Steel Magnificat - Everything is grace

Anthony Esolen, the Irreal, and Sexual Violence

October 19, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

Just a few days ago, I found that a crank of my acquaintance had tried to humiliate me by publicly denouncing me as a “dingbat,” and this because I stated that Anthony Esolen is a bad writer. I found this out several days after he posted that rebuke, so I don’t see that it worked. It did, however, lead to some laughter because of the comments. One of the commentators on that post said, in total seriousness, “She is… Read more

The Two Worst Pro-Life Witnesses This Week

October 18, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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I am more than frustrated with my fellow Catholics just now. First of all, I knew it was only a matter of time before people started appropriating the savage murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to score cheap rhetorical points. I was not at all surprised when one of the first culprits I saw was someone who would call himself pro-life, and a “secretary” of the increasingly alarming American Solidarity Party. At one point I thought the ASP sounded like… Read more

What I Wish Someone had Told me About Chronic Illness

October 15, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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There is something I wish people would have told me, when I first came down with a chronic illness. It’s something I don’t see discussed often enough. It’s a truth that is unfortunate, unfair and very difficult to hear, but I it needs to be talked about. And I hope that in talking about it, I can help other people with chronic illness who might not understand what they see happening around them. Here it is: When you are chronically… Read more

Christ Stands With the Abused, not Abusers

October 12, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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I draw your attention to an article by Jenn Morson, the follow-up to her article from several months ago, where she interviews alleged victims of sexual assault who tried to get help through Student Life as recently as the 2017-2018 school year. These testimonies point to a systemic pattern of ignoring sexual assault and gaslighting victims which is sickening and inexcusable. The article, entitled “Franciscan University Vows to Stop Sexual Assault, but Victims Need Convincing,” particularly details the actions of… Read more

A Sermon Wrapped in a Scarf

October 11, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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There was a sale, awhile ago, at one of my favorite online shops, the exact same week I had a little extra money. I was excited. I put in an order for a scarf I’d been longing for at Wrapunzel, and it shipped very quickly as it always does. I don’t know how the ladies who run their shop stay so organized and professional, but they ship things more quickly than Amazon half the time. I opened the package… Read more

What Not to Say When Someone Tells You They’re Leaving the Church

October 8, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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This post is yet another of those things I wish I never had to say. But I just saw somebody do this, so here goes. Despite what you may have heard, if a person tells you they’re leaving the Church, you should not say “Good riddance. I guess you never read John Six or you’d never be able to leave the Faith.” This is a nasty thing to say. And it’s rotten apologetics, too. There’s no magical hypnosis that makes… Read more

Treat or Trick?

October 8, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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Trick, I guess. This post is not a real post, this is only your periodic reminder that Steel Magnificat, and my family, are almost entirely run on gratuities. I work from home as a writer due to my chronic illness, churning out three to seven literary art projects per week here, my husband copyedits for me, and he’s also the homemaker who takes care of Rosie and does the housework since I’m so often too sick to get off… Read more

The Shadows in Columbus

October 8, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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I think I was in the first grade. It was 1992, and I lived in the city of Columbus, Ohio. There was an enormous bronze statue by the capitol building, of the famous and lauded explorer Christopher Columbus; his hands and feet were quite large and worryingly gnarled. I found out much later, when I studied art history, that artists usually make the hands and feet of bronze statues oversized because bronze is black, and black makes it hard to… Read more

A Series of Mishaps and Rescues

October 8, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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The week really didn’t go South until Wednesday evening. Wednesday was the day of Rose’s birthday party, so we met a family from our former church at the park and had a lovely time. They are friendly, cheerful and generous people, and since they have eight children, everywhere they go is a party. If we ever get out of Steubenville, their friendship will be one of the only things I’ll really miss. The children clamored on the playground… Read more

Because It Was Right, Because It Is Right

October 5, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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When I was a little girl, I saw photographs of the Suffragettes standing gracefully in their corsets, long dresses and enormous hats. They held signs and sometimes pushed baby prams, the epitome of ladylike poise. I had a garbled view of history, as most children do. I thought that women’s liberation was a mostly American movement that began with Susan B. Anthony and ended with the 19th amendment– when, after those lovely demonstrators in big hats had marched and carried… Read more