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
As I write this, there’s a rally at the SC Statehouse about to get underway, and you can read what the organizers had planned at Brad Warthen’s place. [Tip: He’s a good guy to follow for all things SC Politics.] Some quick thoughts and links: 1. It’s time for the Confederate flag to move all the way off the statehouse grounds. 2. I love this photo of the Daughters of St. Paul praying in front of Mother Emmanuel AME Church.... Read more
Observing the vast numbers of Catholic adults struggling to form concise, clearly-stated arguments against Laudatio Si’, youth groups around the nation have mobilized. “It’s hard watching my dad struggle to express what it is he really feels about the encyclical,” says Justin Callahan, a high school senior and student-leader at St. Insolence parish in Western Reading, New York. “One of the things they teach us at youth leadership seminars is how to help the junior high kids tap into what’s really... Read more
“Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to the life of virtue; it is not an optional or secondary aspect of our Christian experience.” Laudato Si’ 217 The difficulty, the dreadful, unspeakable, shield-your-eyes difficulty with the Pope’s new encyclical on the environment comes down to one nasty problem: The man is right. For the popular press, hoping all this time that Pope Francis would be something new and different, created in the image of The Today Show, there’s... Read more
When I first heard about the murders at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church down in Charleston, the news was barely onto it. So I went where the reporters were going, which is #CharlestonShooting on Twitter. It’s a hashtag that’s been used before, for a different white-on-black shooting. If you peruse the comments with any sense of interest in your fellow man, you’ll note the race theme real quick. At this writing, half a day later, all the evidence is pointing towards an... Read more
Elizabeth Scalia writes here about the story behind the story of the slouches in the pews. She’s cranky and she’s got it right. I’m going to tell a story now, and if you were there that day kindly shut up about the who-when-where-why-how, because it could have been anywhere. It’s the story of what makes people respect the Mass, and what doesn’t, and why Elizabeth has it right. *** So I’m at one of these social-moment Masses, and it doesn’t... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In