Humans, all humans, have a need to feel safe when we go to the bathroom. It's a viscerally rooted survival instinct.Back when we were young and childless, if a transvestite friend came to the house there were never any issues. But now we have these young Catholics filling our home, lovely children but still growing in their life of virtue, still easily swayed from the narrow road; we have to think carefully about how that affects our social choices. And thus, when such a friend asks to use … [Read more...]
Amoris Laetitia and the Trans-Bathroom Can of Worms
May 1, 2016 by
So You Want to Bring Your Kids Back to the Catholic Church?
April 10, 2016 by
I spent this weekend with as fine a portion of the Knights of Columbus and the Columbiettes as you could hope to meet. Super group, truly a privilege to be among them. Thank you, prayer team, for your support in making this weekend work, you made all the difference.My hosts told me I could use the lunch hour to talk about anything I wanted, so (surprise!) I talked about evangelization.And thus a follow-up, which I've cross-posted over at my personal blog:If you'd like to continue t … [Read more...]
3 Tips for Keeping Your Dominicans from Looking Like Klansmen
April 6, 2016 by
Here in South Carolina we have both Dominicans and Klansmen, but so far there haven't been any social media panics. I did have a rural Russian Orthodox deacon tell me once that the people at the IGA think he's with the Klan.But we Catholics know these problems are preventable. Here are our top three tips for how to keep anyone from thinking your Dominicans are really KKK:1. Have Them Found an African-American Parish. Try to do it during the height of Jim Crow if you can. Nothin' says " … [Read more...]
Sexual Bravado vs. Sexual Maturity
April 5, 2016 by
My 8th grader was describing an acquaintance of the same age, and I paraphrase: Her rallying cry is, "Let's go f*** some sh** up!" She says never posts *full* nudes of herself, so it's okay. She's obsessed with having a boyfriend, and she keeps asking me what it's like to actually talk to a boy. This is the middle school narrative: If you sext, brandish vulgar language, and organize your life around the quest for a boyfriend, you're the sophisticated one -- even if you've never had a real c … [Read more...]
Whom Does Modesty Serve?
April 4, 2016 by
I've got sex on the brain, and before I start into that conversation, I want to lay out a few comments about the limits of modesty.Here's a quick working definition: With respect to chastity, modesty is the collection of actions we take in order to safeguard our purity. Modesty includes not only the way we dress, but the way we interact with others.There are of course other areas where modesty applies -- with respect to our wealth, our accomplishments, and so forth. For your homework, y … [Read more...]
Favorite Catholic Insults, Divine Mercy Edition
April 3, 2016 by
As learned this weekend: "Don't make me have to say a Chaplet of Divine Mercy for you."Learn more about Divine Mercy Sunday here. Artwork: The English dance of death, from the designs of Thomas Rowlandson, (1903), from the Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons. … [Read more...]
Easter, Better Late than Never
March 28, 2016 by
I would like to tell you something interesting that happened for my Easter present. It was these two things:My parish did not cancel the regularly-scheduled Sunday evening Mass on Easter. I went to it.The whole story isn't so important, but we must emphasize, concerning #2, that I was not being one of these venerable church-helping souls who ends up at three different Masses on the holiday. Though I be a Triduum-loving girl to the core, and though I certainly did not mean to … [Read more...]
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