The crisis in the family has produced a crisis of human ecology, for social environments, like natural environments, need protection. And although the human race has come to understand the need to address conditions that menace our natural … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2019
Abortion Stories
Exploding the Myths of Consequence-Free Sex
The stories in this article are about several women I've known personally, one fictional woman, and one famous Catholic woman, Dorothy Day, who is being considered for sainthood — all of whom had abortions. Their stories illustrate in v … [Read more...]
Our Lady of America
Great Expectations
What could it mean that the Blessed Virgin Mary, appearing in Northern Indiana, USA, on September 25, 1956, in private revelation to Sister Mary Ephrem, CPpS, “promised that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be … [Read more...]
The “Un-hefted” Vanishing Flock
When Irishman Declan Dinneny spoke, I caught every fifth word. His voice came in a wild chorus of undulated high pitches that crescendoed when he spoke of something important, like maybe a heifer who’d miscarried that morning. His farm was b … [Read more...]
Perserverance in the Face of Imperfect Ministers
Too frequently, practicing Catholics encounter family members and friends who are dismayed by the priestly and hierarchal abuse scandals. They have lost faith in the hierarchy and priests, not knowing whom they can trust. Consequently, they … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – September 2019
Love in Context of Abusive Relationships Question: Am I wrong and sinning if I do not like family members who mistreat me? Answer: This question actually has two prongs to it. The one has to do with the relationship of volitional to … [Read more...]
A Sacerdotal Summer
St. Ignatius of Loyola likened the “enemy of our human nature” to a cunning military strategist who sussed out each of our weakest defenses and thereby knew exactly where to strike. A war for souls is truly on, both on the individual as wel … [Read more...]
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to Priests
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to Priests on the 160th Anniversary of the Death of the Holy Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney To my Brother Priests Dear Brothers, A hundred and sixty years have passed since the death of the holy … [Read more...]
Priesthood and Spiritual Childhood
Spiritual pride is an occupational hazard of the priesthood, and a potentially deadly disease. Because of our current ecclesiastical environment, I think it is important to mention clergy abuse cases. Quite apart from the personal emotional … [Read more...]
Evil as Good and Good as Evil
“Woe to those who say evil is good and good is evil . . .” (Isaiah 5:20) The response of a person who has their conscience pricked will range from one of irritation to annoyance, impatience, anger, and, depending on the state of the ind … [Read more...]
The Dark Spirit in Our Institutions
Catholics, Take Heed
There is a dark spirit, a spirit of unreason, stalking the world. In earlier times we might have characterized it as a Dionysian spirit attempting to oust Apollo. This spirit urges those who listen to it to throw off the constraints of the … [Read more...]
Saint Edith Stein
Footsteps to Truth
“Whoever seeks the truth is seeking God.” – Saint Edith Stein, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. While the general story of Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross [1891–1942]) might be well known, her kind of concern for truth in all … [Read more...]
Catholicism and the Zombies of Evolution
Zombies — an undead fictional being created through the reanimation of a human corpse — are all the rage today in popular culture. Many have heard of the top-rated TV show The Walking Dead (the second most-popular TV show in the world) des … [Read more...]
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