Steel Magnificat - Everything is grace

What Does Modesty Have to do With It?

April 19, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

A surprising number of people have responded to the story about the sexual harassment at Franciscan University by asking me, “So how do we get women to dress modestly?” as if that was the point. I really don’t know how you look at a story like that one and see modesty as the takeaway. It starts with a professor insisting that female students dress a certain way in the classroom and then writing a horrendous op ed justifying sexual… Read more

We Will Survive a Day Without Starbucks

April 18, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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I’m not one to criticize people for buying coffee at a coffee shop. I don’t go around grumbling about young people who can’t afford houses because they eat avocados and go to fancy newfangled coffee bars instead of using a percolator and a big drum of Choc Full O’Nuts. That’s something curmudgeonly baby boomers do. If that’s how you choose to spend your time and budget, cool beans. I also am willing to pay extra for convenience if I can… Read more

A Clarification of my Recent Remarks, and Why I “Censor” Ethnonationalists

April 17, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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Lately, some very interesting folks have reached out to me with concerns. I would like to address them publicly right here on the blog. First of all, I have been accused of being a hypocrite and threatened with screenshot shaming, because I stated on Facebook that Kristen Hatten’s crackpot husband ought to be dishonorably discharged from the army for threatening cannibalism when he got back from Africa. A tenure-track professor, who was very proud of being a tenure-track professor and… Read more

Franciscan University, Title IX, and the Objectification of Women

April 16, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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There is a weird attitude I’ve encountered all around Steubenville, that defending Franciscan University is somehow the same as defending Catholicism– as if every criticism of the university and its surrounding culture is a criticism of the Church. You just have to look at my combox some days to see it in action; these people think any negative word about the University or the culture that surrounds it here in Steubenville is pernicious heresy against Catholic teaching. This association… Read more

Yes, Mr. Arroyo, Youths Can Know God

April 14, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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Yes, I’ve seen the clip. As many of you already know, Raymond Arroyo, a man whose television program I avoid like the plague, was griping about today’s youth this week. He was offended that the Pope– or anyone, for that matter– was listening to youths from all over the world, instead of to important people like Raymond Arroyo. I decided to ignore him, until I found that even people who like Arroyo’s show were chiding him, so I decided… Read more

Cleaning the Sticky Tack Corner

April 14, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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It was time to organize the Beautiful Corner. I call it the “Beautiful Corner” because that’s its name; if I were to describe it honestly, I suppose I’d call it a tacky corner– or maybe the Sticky Tack corner, since that’s what I use to hold all the icons in place. There are so many colorful icons on those two walls it looks like a patchwork quilt, but it just keeps growing. Today, a friend sent me a big package… Read more

The Wages of War

April 14, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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As I write this, on a Friday night during prime time while our president is being investigated by the FBI, the United States is lobbing missiles at Syria. This bombing is in response to the horrendous gas attacks that killed sixty last week . According to Reuters, the president said that France and England intend to continue bombing Syria until Syria stops using chemical weapons. We are joined in this attack by Britain and France. This is normal, and has… Read more

White Nationalism Is Not Just Another Opinion

April 10, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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There’s been a bit of a kerfuffle. Kristen Hatten, the ethnonationalist writer who publicly calls herself an ethnonationalist on Facebook and Twitter and is deeply proud of her ethnonationalism, is upset that people keep calling her an ethnonationalist. She feels she’s been treated unfairly. She doubled down on her ethnonationalism on Facebook, and then got miffed that Facebook deleted her post for containing ethnonationalism. She referred to concerned people sharing and commenting on her public tweets as “Doxing” and… Read more

A Rattle of the Cup

April 9, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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I’ll be back on with a “real” post in about two hours; this is just your periodic reminder that Steel Magnificat runs almost entirely on tips. In fact, Steel Magnificat tips are my family’s primary income at present. Michael is a stay-at-home dad and homemaker because of my chronic illnesses; I busk for tips for our living; Rosie provides material. We are very blessed to know every one of you and we do pray for all of our contributors, and… Read more

Blessed are We Who Have Not Seen

April 7, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Shalom.” That was the first word that Jesus Christ said to His apostles, after raising from the dead: Shalom. Shalom means peace; it also means harmony, wholeness, completeness. In addition, it was the local idiom for “hello” or “hi.” Jesus, who had been abandoned by His… Read more