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Fatal Abstractions

Women know what works and what doesn’t. And the Church cares that this knowledge of the concrete that women possess should be brought to bear upon all policy decisions.

There is a natural desire in parents to provide a better life for their children. Indeed, the Apostle tells us that parents ought to lay up for their children (2 Cor 12:14). This is true not only in the material sense, but also in the moral and spiritual — the spiritual in fact being the […]

Why Not Just Have an Affair?

Jan 20 11 • Steve Pokorny • 0 comments

Take one quick look at the culture and it is easy to see that marriage is in big trouble. There’s a very high divorce rate (somewhere near half of all marriages in America end in divorce), and that rate is improving only because many people are deciding to skip it altogether and simply cohabitate. There […]

Saintly Survival of the Teen Years

Jan 20 11 • Patti Maguire Armstrong • 0 comments

There’s a bit of a theological disagreement when it comes to heaven. Some believe we will understand all of life’s mysteries and have all our questions answered there. Others expect that basking in the glory of the Almighty will satisfy all desires. Curiosity will simply not exist. My guess is the latter theory is most […]

Best Practices of Faith Formation: Confirmation Requirements

Jan 20 11 • Stanley D. Williams, Ph.D • 0 comments

Some years ago, I was working on a video documentary for Ford Motor Company about the famous American industrial statistician, W. Edwards Deming, who is credited with transforming Japan’s industrial quality after WWII, and making the Japanese the competitive powerhouse they are today. Quality Control In 1950, Deming had been upset with the quality of […]

Beyond the Power of Angels

Jan 17 11 • Kathleen Woodman • 0 comments

Like a lot of other people, I have been very busy this season, and even though I’ve taken time off from my usual homeschooling schedule, I’ve managed to find plenty to keep me just as occupied as usual. I have to watch my use of time, as I sometimes treat it as something that needs […]

6 Blogging Tips for Boomers

Jan 16 11 • Mary Biever • 0 comments

If Charles Dickens blogged today, no one would read him. He used too many words. Boomers can have great ideas, but they have to relearn how to write if they want people to read them. Less is more. Long is never read. How can boomers with great ideas learn to sift for gold and shake out […]

Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 5: Introductory Rites

Jan 15 11 • Louie Verrecchio • 0 comments

NOTE: In order to make this examination of the changes in the people’s parts of Holy Mass easier to navigate, all of the text taken from the Missal will be in italics, while the newly translated text (where changes are found) will be in bold italics. During the Introductory Rites when the priest says The […]

Womanly Role Models from the Scriptures

Jan 15 11 • Lisa Hendey • 0 comments

Women today receive mixed messages about what their roles in life should be — we’ve all heard about the “mommy wars,” debates over work vs. home issues, and other gender based issues that top many of today’s headlines. With her book Reclaiming Your Christian Self in a Secular World: A Woman’s Worth (Pleasant Word, October […]

Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 4: Active Participation

Jan 12 11 • Louie Verrecchio • 0 comments

The widespread misunderstanding of “active participation” in the sacred liturgy has undoubtedly been one of the most disruptive forces in Catholic life after Vatican II. It is no surprise, therefore, that this has often been the subject of recent papal instruction. In his 2007 apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI said, […]

Calling All Geniuses

Jan 10 11 • Steve Pokorny • 0 comments

A popular speaker on theology of the body once received an enthusiastic comment from a fan: “Gosh, I really love your talk on the hygiene of women.” It only took him a moment to realize what she meant to say: “I really love your talk on the genius of women.” While the hygiene of women […]

Catch Me Now, I’m Falling

Jan 10 11 • Heidi Bratton • 0 comments

We enjoy the sport of rock climbing as a family. Because granite cliffs are a bit hard to come by where we live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, we most often climb at a world-class, indoor climbing gym about 40 minutes from the house. Upon first glance, the gym is an intimidating place. A towering […]

Best Practices for Adult Faith Formation: Evaluating Your RCIA Instruction

Jan 10 11 • Stanley D. Williams, Ph.D • 1 comment

Of the many volunteer jobs I’ve taken to promote the Church, one that I found most interesting was chauffeuring a well-known Catholic convert and evangelist from appointment to appointment. One day, I drove him to a television station where he was interviewed by his bishop about his conversion to Catholicism. On air, the bishop said he assumed the evangelist came […]

Teaching Catholic Children about Islam

Jan 10 11 • Lisa Hendey • 0 comments

Catholic Book Review: My Muslim Friend: A Young Catholic Learns about Islam by Donna Jean Kemmetmueller, FSP In today’s complex world, we have an ever growing need to learn about and understand other cultures and religions. Images of war and terrorism enter into our homes on a daily basis. Stereotypes abound, frequently leaving children fearful […]

Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 3: Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Signs

Jan 9 11 • Louie Verrecchio • 0 comments

Fully conscious and active participation. This is a phrase that has been invoked so often over the last four decades that it can almost be considered a mantra, and not without good reason. After all, it is according to the council the “aim to be considered before all else” in the matter of liturgical reform […]

Birth of a Family: Review of <i>A Change of Plans</i>

Birth of a Family: Review of A Change of Plans

Jan 7 11 • Heidi Hess Saxton • 0 comments

This past weekend I had an opportunity to preview the upcoming “Family Movie Night” feature, A Change of Plans (FOX, January 8 at 8 p.m. EST). As I watched, I couldn’t help but compare this couple’s experiences with what my husband and I went through when we first received our children. Chris was 2-1/2, Sarah […]

Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 2: Constructing a Solid Foundation

Jan 6 11 • Louie Verrecchio • 0 comments

I’m sure that you’re anxious to explore the new prayers and responses contained in the forthcoming English translation of the Roman Missal, but before we delve into the text itself, it’s important for us to take the time to construct a solid foundation upon which our understanding may rest, and it is easily constructed of […]

Mary, Our Mother, in the Bible

Jan 6 11 • Patti Maguire Armstrong • 0 comments

When I returned the Catholic faith, or became what some like to call a “revert,” something new was added to my life that was not present before: devotion to Mary. Actually, I believe it was Mary who brought me home, as so many mothers do their lost children. Having mixed with a fair share of […]

Master Game Maker

Jan 5 11 • Marge Fenelon • 0 comments

The other day, I was sorting through some of the kid’s toys and ran across the “Mouse Trap” game that John had received for his sixth birthday. If you’ve never played it before, you’re really missing something. “Mouse Trap” is an intriguing array of rickety old stairs, suspended bathtubs, winding chutes, wheels, cranks, and even […]

Lost at Sundance

Jan 5 11 • Marc T. Newman, Ph.D. • 0 comments

Two days in to week two at Sundance and I am detecting a theme, at least in the films that I selected to see at this, the nations premiere independent film festival: we are lost. I am sure that there are plenty of feel-good films here in Park City, but for some reason, I have […]

The Heart that Prays is the Heart that Loves

Jan 5 11 • Fr. Kyle Schnippel • 0 comments

‘In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.’ With these words, from the introduction to the fourth section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we are reminded that the life […]

Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 1: Introduction

Jan 3 11 • Louie Verrecchio • 0 comments

When Pope Benedict XVI received a hardbound copy of the recently approved English translation of the Roman Missal from members of the Vox Clara Committee on April 28, 2010 he said, “Soon the fruits of your labors will be made available to English-speaking congregations everywhere. Through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, […]

Scattering Seeds

Jan 3 11 • Mary Anne Moresco • 0 comments

I plant seeds for a living. Every plant I’ve ever watered has died. People give away dead and dying plants to my husband Tom and he resurrects them like they were Lazarus. Me? Put a plant in my charge and it will turn brown. But I plant seeds, none the less. I don’t sow seeds […]

What Went Wrong for <i>The Perfect Game</i>

What Went Wrong for The Perfect Game

Jan 1 11 • Mary Kochan • 0 comments

I took three of my grandchildren to see The Perfect Game yesterday. My daughter is a manager at a mall theater and she had told me that the movie opened Friday and no one went to see it. I knew it was unlikely that it would stay past the weekend without a major change. I […]