The Cordial Catholic - Cordially explaining the Catholic faith.

What’s the Biggest Difference Between Catholics and Evangelicals?

November 7, 2018 By K. Albert Little

I’ve heard it described, by more than one convert, that becoming a Catholic after being an Evangelical is as big of a paradigm shift as going from being an Atheist to believing in God. That’s a pretty big jump and if I hadn’t experienced it I wouldn’t have believed it was true. But, truth be told, my conversion bridged a pretty similar chasm in the end. I was an Evangelical. I’m now a Catholic. From a radical conversion to… Read more

The Incredible Implications of the Bones of St. Peter

October 18, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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Way back at Christmastime, just after our second child was born, I perfected the art of bouncing a baby on an exercise ball while reading a book. Admittedly, it’s a skill I’m pretty proud of. With our older offspring happily spending the day at preschool I had a lot of time to help out at home during those first two weeks and between the baby eating, sleeping, and pooping there was the bouncing—and a lot of bouncing. And, in turn,… Read more

Why I’m Still Catholic (And Not Going Anywhere)

September 20, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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It’s Friday night after work and of all the places I could be, I’m here. In the basement of an elderly gentleman I’ve never met before surrounded by strangers. Celebrating the Mass. A week earlier I’d received an e-mail from a Catholic Men’s Group I hadn’t attended in years. The group had been instrumental in helping me become Catholic but kind of petered out and when our son was born that July and my free time for things like fellowship when human beings… Read more

If Pope Francis Covered Up Sexual Abuse, Now What?

August 26, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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It’s Sunday morning and we’re getting dressed for Mass. Our son, three years old, is practising the Sign of the Cross in the other room and I can hear him muttering various configurations of, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” to himself as he vigorously waves his arms around his body. He’s been practising all week and occasionally exclaims loudly—“Daddy!”—when he gets it right. He’s pretty proud of himself, and we’re proud too. He picks up on these things, see. The… Read more

Good Priests and Bishops Must Speak Out Now

August 20, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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The news of the sexual abuse scandal out of Pennsylvania has rocked the global Catholic Church to its core. The findings of the Grand Jury report, along with the sheer number of victims and perpetrators, is nothing short of shocking. The immense cover up is almost unfathomable. Words do not do justice. And although Canadian Catholics like myself haven’t been caught up in the abuse itself there’s not a single Catholic I can think of in my network of friends… Read more

Is the Mass Just Empty Ritual? Or a Great Spiritual Comfort?

August 17, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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So I have this weird affinity for rough towels. Hear me out. Ever since I was a kid, my ever thrifty mother loved her clothesline. She loved hanging clothes to dry. Some days if we’d hadn’t seen mom around the house for a while my sister or I would ask, out loud, “Where’s mom?” The answer, inevitably, was the same, “Out back with the clothesline again.” So I grew up, understandably, with rough towels. If you’ve ever had a mother like… Read more

In Light of Abuse, Should I Stop Being Catholic?

August 16, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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Somewhere in the middle of my journey out of Evangelicalism into the Catholic Church a good friend gently took me by the arm and said, “But what about all the scandals?” It was Oscar season and while it had been a number of years since any major scandal involving pedophile priests Spotlight, the dramatization of the Boston Archdiocese child abuse coverups, was rekindling long-buried conversation. I had, at the time, no good answer for my friend. And I still don’t…. Read more

How Do We Participate in the Mass?

August 7, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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Let’s play a word association game. When I say, “Vatican II,” what do you think of? Often times, for Catholics of a certain generation, the term Vatican II can send shudders up the spine. For others, its a source of bitter division between the traditional rites and liturgies of the Catholic Church and the new, modernized Mass that was established following the reforms that have come to be known simply as Vatican II. But the Second Vatican Council was actually… Read more

No, the Catholic Church Isn’t Anti-Sex

July 17, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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As a young Evangelical, my understanding of Christian sexual ethics was, at best, a piecemeal affair. Like much of the theology and philosophy that underpinned my beliefs, I’d gathered what I knew from a loose networks of Evangelical authors I’d read, pastors I’d listened to, and a sordid collection of opinions from friends and family. Needless to say, it was quite an eclectic flavour of Christianity. But, at the same time, no different in the least from my Evangelical peers…. Read more

Why Do I Need To Go To Mass On Sunday? (Because You’re Fat!)

July 13, 2018 By K. Albert Little

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In basically all of the developed world obesity is a growing crisis. People—adults and, sadly, children too—are getting fatter and becoming considerably less healthy. It’s a huge problem, and it’s getting worse. By most accounts I’ve read it’s a medical crisis of greater scope and scale than even the worst kinds of cancer or disease. We are getting fatter, and it’s killing us. Sadly, the causes are all too well known and stupidly simple. Highly processed food and a movement away… Read more