So my How to Prevent Same Sex Couples from Suing Us post garnered reactions pretty similar to all my other what if we did what the Church says we should do posts about catechesis (a smattering linked below). The three main reactions are: Nice idea, but priests have too much work as it is. Nice idea, but how exactly do we make this happen? Um. What?? But to give you an idea of how far off the cliff the Church has already... Read more
Yesterday I had more fun than a person should be allowed to have before 10AM, recording my contribution to the July 4th segment of Outside the Walls with Timothy Putnam. The topic was my blog post on Weird Things Pope Francis Says. What you get if you tune in Saturday morning: Tim & I talking about communication styles, and how that affects our reading of the Bible, the Pope, and Everything. (Evangelization is a nice slice of the Everything.) The... Read more
June was a busy flag month, and I’m concerned it’s costing us our humanity. In the wake of the SCOTUS decision overturning state marriage laws, Facebook broke out in rainbow flags, and if you run in the circles I do, you saw a rash of yellow-and-white Vatican flags pop up in reply. So be it. People like their flags. But something more nefarious seems to be happening: People are becoming their flags. We have become such a symbol-heavy culture that we... Read more
In a private conversation Elizabeth Scalia posed a question, and I’m going to paraphrase it wildly: If you are the parent of young children, are you afraid for what the future holds for them? It’s a question people are answering this week whether it’s been asked or not: What does the future hold for faithful Christians in a culture that despises our faith? My answer is, very bluntly, is that whenever I’ve had my head on straight, I’ve always been terrified... Read more
The usually sensible Fr. Longenecker proposes that the Catholic Church get out of the civil marriage business as a way to avoid being forced to officiate at same-sex ceremonies. There is a much simpler solution: We could decline to offer Catholic wedding ceremonies to couples unless at least one of the two is a practicing Catholic. We already try to do this, witness the massive hoops that Catholic couples are forced to jump through in order to get a church... Read more
I had this long rocky relationship with the Liturgy of the Hours, which finally came to a peaceful resolution when the breviary and I admitted that really what I want is the Office of Readings. Turns out it doesn’t matter how many helpful people suggest Morning, Evening, or Night prayer as the ideal place for beginners to start, what I need is the Geek Hour. Some people use their feelings to stir up their intellect, I use my intellect to stir up... Read more
Josh Canning lays down the challenge here: How do we make time for evangelization in our lives? Half the battle is wanting to, of course. That requires conversion and discipleship. But suppose you’ve experienced the conversion, and given your life over to a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do in fact want to answer that call of the baptized to go and preach the good news and make disciples of all nations? Why is it... Read more
H/T to Kate O’Hare, who linked to these initially puzzling comments from Pope Francis on weapons manufacturing and just warfare: It makes me think one thing: people, leaders, entrepreneurs that call themselves Christians, and produce arms! This gives some mistrust: they call themselves Christians! “No, no, Father, I don’t produce them, no, no …. I only have my savings, my investments in arms factories.” Ah! And why? “Because the interest is somewhat higher …” And a double face is also... Read more
Some years ago my grandparents had a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting Ireland, where some of the ancestors come from. They had a wonderful time, and brought back gifts and enthusiasm, but also this comment: “There’s just nothing like the good old USA.” Rightly so. Three-quarters* of my grandparents are buried in national cemeteries; they took this freedom business seriously. Father’s Day I had the privilege of attending the interment of a beloved father and husband, departed... Read more
In my mailbox this month: A Short Guide to Praying as a Family, recently released by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. I haven’t had a chance to read the entire thing yet, but what I’ve seen thus far is spectacular. Beautiful and useful both. You can read a review here. You can preview the book here. You can order it directly from the sisters here, or from the Catholic Company here. Excellent potential as a discussion-starter for a parents’ discipleship group this fall.... Read more
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