We hear a lot about how our contemporary society devalorizes marriage, or is destroying marriage. That’s by no means untrue, but our society doesn’t, say, despise marriage (yet?); rather, it has some bizarre and distorted ideas about it that lead, almost unwittingly, to the decadence of the institution. (Nobody’s happy about the 50% divorce rate, for example–even though most people are typically totally unwilling to take steps that might address the situation.) One of the most symptomatic aspects of this distortion is... Read more

I went to confession last week. It was wonderful. Go to confession! One thing that the priest told me was, well, the headline of this post: “Christ went to the Cross for you, personally. What this means is, that if all men had been righteous, and you were the only sinner, Jesus would have done exactly the same thing.” It hit me like a freight train. Now, of course, this is something as a Christian I “know” (insofar as we... Read more

Today is the feast of the Annunciation, so even though I’ve already written today I thought I’d write up a few quick thoughts. Mary as perfect disciple and icon of faith. Among many other things, Mary stands in the Gospel as the image of the perfect disciple, and the Annunciation shows this almost as clearly as anything (her presence at the foot of the Cross being the other). When we think of this, we typically think of her fiat, but there... Read more

I woke up and Christian Twitter was all a-twitter (ha) about the news that World Vision, a highly respected Evangelical global development NGO, would hire Christians in same-sex marriages. The reactions, from both sides of the culture war, were highly predictable. Russell Moore, the closest thing to an “official voice” of Evangelicalism, has decried the move as inspired by the devil. This is a problem for Catholic institutions, too. All this strikes me as both strategically block-headed and, so much... Read more

This Saturday I took part in the yearly St Joseph pilgrimage of family fathers to the Sacré Coeur basilica. This is a wonderful devotion and ministry that got started a few years ago in France, for men who are husbands and fathers. Under the patronage and intercession of Saint Joseph, what started out as one pilgrimage now takes thousands of men on pilgrimages to holy sites all around France: the Sacré Coeur, but also Cotignac, Vézelay, the Mont Saint-Michel… This... Read more

I guess since I’m starting this new Catholic blog, I should talk a little bit about my religious life, or my spirituality. Or however you call it. This is awkward. This is awkward because, first, of course, I’m the least well-placed person to discuss my religious life and spirituality. And second, because if I have to describe my religion, “Catholic” should suffice, shouldn’t it? No? Okay. (And third, because autobiography, especially coming from a 27-year-old, is almost always cringeworthy.) When... Read more