Some time ago, my husband went to confession with a particularly thorny sin on his soul. The kind that he wanted to avoid, and yet seemed to be utterly unable to shake. Father used an expression that we both contemplated thereafter at long intervals: Sin bravely. Apparently it’s a Lutheran thing, and I assure the scandalized reader that Father B. is neither Lutheran nor proposing that we go through life with sin as our goal. Rather, I inferred, in the battle... Read more
Turns out the Holy Father has announced a Jubilee Year. [Quick update: Fr. Capo writes, “@TheAnchoress @Jennifer_Fitz The Jubilee Year is to be celebrated just in Isernia, Italy, where Pope Celestine was born 800 yrs ago.” Thanks for the clarification, Father!] I was scratching my head, vaguely remembering JPII had done such a thing back in the early years of my reversion (2000, as it happens), and sure enough, even Wikipedia wasn’t expecting another such until 2025. I’m unclear, given... Read more
Rebecca Hamilton has written a beautiful and moving testimony on the nature of family life, and I think it gives us exactly the answer to the problem of Catholics who struggle with the Catholic faith. What’s the right thing to do with our fellow Catholics who don’t quite have it all together? People who are egregiously mistaken in their understanding of serious matters? Our Lord answers the question quite plainly: Treat them as you would the pagans and tax collectors.... Read more
“The good news,” I found myself telling a new arrival recently, in giving her the lay of the land her new home city, “Is that I’m pretty sure all your priests are Catholic.” You either know what I meant or you’re in willful denial, and I mean that in the kindest possible way. As we gear up for the Synod for the Family, one of the realities we have to face is that the reason we are in such a... Read more
Speaking of feeding things, today over at CatholicMom.com I tell the riveting tale of what happens when you put your cash on the table and trust your 14-year-old to feed the family. With great trepidation we began last month a project that seemed like a good idea when we thought it up it two years earlier: The Summer of Cooking. The theory was that by giving our rising 9th grader responsibility for cooking for the family all summer, he’d learn... Read more
Edited to add a head’s up: This is a post discussing adult topics. Par for the course on this blog. Parents preview first, thank you. When a baby is baptized at St. Suburban’s, the parents and godparents sit front and center during Mass. Because we have an unusually high ratio of transept seating, about 50% of the parish has a perfect view of that front row pew. Thus it heartened me one week during Mass to see that the mother... Read more
When I returned to the Catholic faith, I landed in the hands of the right priest. He heard my confession, and then pointed me in the direction I needed to go. “Does your marriage need to be convalidated? We can take care of that. Let’s see . . . I like to offer NFP instruction to all my marriage-prep couples, here’s this free intro session coming up, you might be interested in it.” Gracious, pastoral, and completely confident in the... Read more
Update: Pia de Solenni reports on the situation in Iraq, where the fruits of religious intolerance have blossomed in full force. And those fruits are death. Update #2: Here in the good ol’ USA, the reaction to an unfavorable court decision is . . . death threats. Keepin’ it classy. Permission hereby granted for my worthy opponents to link in the combox to anyone on your side of the debate who is publicly condemning this trash. *** Msgr. Pope sums... Read more
Of all the reactions to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby Case, Sam Rocha’s is my favorite: The health care problem wouldn’t be solved either way. Go read his comments, then come back here, because that’s where I’m going. First a few more required reading links: Shameless Popery clears up the several most common misconceptions about this case: 4 Things You Probably Have Wrong About the Hobby Lobby Decision The Crescat reminds you that this was never about birth... Read more
Kathy Schiffer reminds you that if, “I’d like to be a writer someday” applies to you, consider attending the Catholic Writers Conference this summer. It’s in metro-Chicago this year, and the location varies from year to year, so if you’re in the upper-midwest or central Canada come July 30-August 1, this is your year. Promises to be an excellent event. From the press release: Speakers at this year’s conference include authors Lisa Hendey (BOOK OF SAINTS FOR CATHOLIC MOMS), award-winning... Read more
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