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Reflections on the Mass of the Lord's Supper

Reflections on the Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Apr 17 14 • 0 comments

“Having Loved His own  …He loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1-15.) Jesus knew that it was His time to enter into His Passion and in His love for His apostles Jesus wanted to spend this memorial feast of the Passover with them. He wanted to bequeath to His apostles one last gift and proof […]

Are You Suffering? Trust God

Are You Suffering? Trust God

Apr 17 14 • 0 comments

This past weekend I met four other people with multiple sclerosis. It was not by design. I met them at events that had nothing to do with MS or disability. The uncertainty of the disease is terrifying them all. Multiple sclerosis can take a benign course and cause very little disability or it can take a […]

Pope Calls Abortion an ‘Abominable Crime’ in Strongest Remarks to Date

Pope Calls Abortion an ‘Abominable Crime’ in Strongest Remarks to Date

Apr 17 14 • 3 comments

Human life is “sacred and inviolable” and “every civil law is based on the recognition of the first and most fundamental right, the right to life,” Pope Francis told an Italian pro-life organization last week. The pope thanked the Movimento per la Vita, one of Italy’s leading political pro-life groups, for their work, urging them […]

Movie Review: <em>God's Not Dead</em>

Movie Review: God’s Not Dead

DISCLAIMER: Some Christians believe that any Christian film that is trying to do good and tell the truth should be praised and promoted, whether or not it displays excellence in filmmaking and theology/philosophy. I am not one of those Christians. You have been warned. Proceed with this knowledge. The new Christian film: God’s Not Dead […]

Where Do I Stand?

Where Do I Stand?

It is Holy Thursday, and during the daytime we celebrate the Chrism Mass. Tonight we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper.  During this liturgy, churches around the entire globe will wait in  prayerful vigil, with lights dimmed, all images covered and the congregation adopts a tone of respectful and somber silence. The Church is remembering […]

<em>Treason</em>: Then and Now

Treason: Then and Now

Apr 16 14 • 1 comment

I’ve noticed a curious tic in my circle of friends. We’ve known each other for years, we share the faith, a worldview, and a trail of conversations on almost every subject, and yet, there are moments where we stop mid-sentence to adjust our words, the delivery, or the approach to a topic that is currently […]

The Conscious Uncoupling of Love from Sacrifice

The Conscious Uncoupling of Love from Sacrifice

Apr 16 14 • 0 comments

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, whom I do not know personally and don’t have any authority or desire to judge, having their own back-stories, needs, and wounds (just like me!), are “consciously uncoupling” from their marriage. This phrase I feel I can objectively judge. ‘Cause it’s goofy. Their advisors, Dr. Habib Sadeghi and Dr. Sherry Sami, are […]

The Divergent Dignities of Terri Schiavo and Roxy the Dog

The Divergent Dignities of Terri Schiavo and Roxy the Dog

Apr 16 14 • 2 comments

Every now and then the biomedical community and the legal system are presented with the opportunity to rediscover our collective humanity through the lens of animal rights and animal cruelty. More often than not that lens has insufficient power to correct their distorted perception of human dignity. Having just passed the ninth anniversary of Terri […]

Having a Bad Lent?

Having a Bad Lent?

Apr 16 14 • 0 comments

Today’s readings center around the betrayal of Jesus  by Judas Iscariot. I have been thinking as I go through the trials of having an ill spouse: how easy it is to betray Jesus by losing hope?  How often do I want to escape from my daily duties?  It can be difficult to accept prolonged suffering, especially […]

Thinking Liturgically:  The Asperges

Thinking Liturgically: The Asperges

Apr 15 14 • 3 comments

One of the reasons I love the Extraordinary Form is that within the rite, there are a lot of lovely little ceremonies that either didn’t survive the liturgical reform, or they survived in name only.  The Asperges Me is one such ceremony.  While it is technically still available, it is one option among many, and […]

Five Reasons to See and Talk About <em>Noah</em>

Five Reasons to See and Talk About Noah

I confess. I did not go into the movie Noah with a tabula rasa. I first read the scathing review of popular blogger, Matt Walsh. Then, curiosity peaked, I watched Sr. Rose Pacatte’s review. She loved it. Confused, but also intrigued, I decided I would just have to see for myself. There have been a wide range of views in […]

Mercy and the Truth Are Not Incompatible

Mercy and the Truth Are Not Incompatible

Apr 15 14 • 0 comments

Some weeks ago a group of young people, in their late 20s and early 30s, began showing up on the sidewalk in front of a local abortion facility where I and dozens of other pro life witnesses from Catholics United for Life have done sidewalk counseling for many years. They are an energetic bunch, full […]

Peter's Denial and Ours

Peter’s Denial and Ours

Apr 15 14 • 0 comments

How many of us can relate to Simon Peter’s desire to stand beside Jesus, steadfast and true? Those very same people can, I am sure, also relate to Peter’s denial of Jesus. As St. Paul would say, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. As we grow in our own discipleship of Jesus Christ, […]

Poem: "Exhilaration is the Breeze"

Poem: “Exhilaration is the Breeze”

Apr 14 14 • 0 comments

Exhilaration is the Breeze (Part Five: The Single Hound XI) Exhilaration is the Breeze That lifts us from the ground, And leaves us in another place Whose statement is not found; Returns us not, but after time 5 We soberly descend, A little newer for the term Upon enchanted ground Emily Dickinson

Daily Consecration - Christ's and Ours

Daily Consecration – Christ’s and Ours

Apr 14 14 • 0 comments

The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us something truly astounding: Christ’s prayer at his incarnation. The inspired author heard his prayer captured in the words of Psalm 40, “When Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and [sin] offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me … I have […]

Support Local Arts: Bring Beauty to Your World

Support Local Arts: Bring Beauty to Your World

Apr 14 14 • 1 comment

In the small Canadian prairie town where I grew up there is an arts centre named after my mother. The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is dedicated to the performing arts.  At center-stage sits a grand piano like a tribute to her. My mother taught piano for 60 years. Even at the age of 93 years, […]

The Persecution of Sister Jane Dominic Laurel

The Persecution of Sister Jane Dominic Laurel

Apr 14 14 • 4 comments

Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, a Dominican nun who has recently come under fire for a presentation she made to a group of Catholic students in North Carolina, has been doing the same type of presentation for years. Her subject matter is Catholic teaching on the truth about human sexuality—popularized by Pope John Paul II as […]

Be Authentic by Returning to God

Be Authentic by Returning to God

Apr 14 14 • 0 comments

At the very beginning of our conversion, we try to emulate Christ at a superficial level. We are play-acting. This is not a bad thing, not really, because the job of living the life of Jesus in His humility is difficult. We will probably mature in faith past this normal stage of development. However, at […]

St. Paul in Arabia:  The Apostles Preaches in Damascus

St. Paul in Arabia: The Apostles Preaches in Damascus

In ancient times the city of Damascus employed a system of subterranean canals that irrigated the plains and supplied Damascenes with drinking water.  Some of these aqueducts were more than a mile in length.  It was through these canals that Saint Paul escaped the city to enter Arabia (Gal 1:17), and through them he returned […]

One Table, One Family

One Table, One Family

Apr 12 14 • 0 comments

“Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.  I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for […]

EU Pressure on Homosexuality Complicates EU-Africa Summit

EU Pressure on Homosexuality Complicates EU-Africa Summit

European pressure on African nations to change laws on homosexuality has created a backlash that may threaten this week’s meeting between leaders of the two continents European officials have been scrambling to appease African leaders ahead of this week’s summit of EU and African leaders in Brussels. The summit is meant to address a host […]

Saving Sex: Why My Target Audience Isn't Teens

Saving Sex: Why My Target Audience Isn’t Teens

Apr 11 14 • 1 comment

The other day on Facebook, a reader learned that for my forthcoming book, called Chastity is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin, the target audience is adults, and primarily young ones.* She suggested that in the future, I target teens instead. Another reader, who had asked if the book is fit for teens, suggested […]

The Pro-Life Movement's Last and Best Hope

The Pro-Life Movement’s Last and Best Hope

Apr 11 14 • 1 comment

In Dostoevsky’s epic novel, The Brothers Karamazov, brothers Ivan and Alyosha engage in a deep discussion about God – his existence and his goodness. Expressing frustration at his brother’s rejection of faith, Aloysha declares that if there is no God, “everything is permitted.” The truth of this observation may be seen in the ongoing debate over […]

Be a Witness In the Face of Persecution

Be a Witness In the Face of Persecution

Apr 11 14 • 0 comments

I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side!  denounce! let us denounce him!”  All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. Do you ever feel like everyone is against you? Do you sometimes feel like you can do no right in the eyes of some people? […]