I’ve joked all summer that I need Lisa Hendey to write me a companion volume to her new book, The Grace of Yes. It would consist of a single index card with the word NO in giant letters. She assured me: There’s a chapter for you. So when my copy of the The Grace of the Yes arrived, I stared at it nervously for a minute, then quick checked the table of contents. Chapter 7: The Grace of No. Written... Read more
Over at Catholic Writers Guild this month, I’m talking about social media for writers. I start with some comments on why marketing matters, and why it can be a struggle for Catholic authors: For about 5% of authors, marketing is a delight: A chance to get out of the writer’s box, meet people, chat, share the exciting news. For the rest of us, it’s a chore. I’d rather be writing. I’d rather be holed up in my hermitage minding my... Read more
The topic of Catholic vs. Protestant views of salvation has come up several times in conversation lately. With that in mind, here’s a reprint of the review I wrote several years ago of Jimmy Akin’s book The Salvation Controversy, published by Catholic Answers in 2001. The book is currently in print in electronic version only, but you can find hard copies used here and there. Read on, and see if you are the target audience. If you’re not, give it a... Read more
Eve Tushnet’s new book Gay and Catholic is this month’s Patheos book club book, so you can see a pile of reviews and comments here. I give it a nearly-unqualified Buy recommend. What is this book? Gay and Catholic is a combination memoir, meditation, and how-to manual for both Catholics who experience same-sex attraction and the people who love them (or ought to). Think Catholic Nerd Girl’s heart-to-heart about life, the Church, and everything. It’s funny, it’s literary, and there’s something... Read more
Deacon Greg Kandra writes about a recent NY Times piece on priests who forsake their vows, and the women who help them do it. You would think from the way people talk that there’s something about a man in holy orders that just makes him irresistible. It’s as if there’s a force field emanating from that Roman collar that disables free will: Don’t get too close, ladies, or you might have no choice but to fall in love! Well, the don’t... Read more
One of the challenges in rearing our children is giving them an education that is faithful to Catholic teaching and is also physically and financially feasible. In many areas there are excellent Catholic schools; a few dioceses have taken brilliant initiatives to make it possible for all parishioners to attend, regardless of financial need. That said, we can hardly describe America in 2014 as a wonderland of orthodox parochial education. Over at CatholicMom.com this month, I’m discussing whether online Catholic... Read more
. . . We’re in the truck, and the middle-schooler makes some remark to me mentioning birth control — comment on the news, an advertisement, something a friend said, I can’t remember what. Eight-year-old eavesdropper in the back seat asks, “What’s birth control?” I avoid choking and give a low-key answer, along the lines of, “It’s a drug or device used to make it so your body can’t have babies, or has a hard time having babies.” End of discussion,... Read more
The recently launched online Catholic magazine Crux has an advice column up, in which a parent is told that her child’s obsession with the occult is probably no big deal: How would you feel if she were immersed in the Narnia books, written by the Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis, or in the dark and fantastical worlds imagined by J.R.R. Tolkein – a Catholic — in “The Lord of the Rings” novels? Many children in their pre-teen years find escape in fantasy.... Read more
The media is gushing over another high-profile suicide, which is of course high-profile precisely because the media chooses to gush over it. What sane people do, when they learn that someone is contemplating killing themselves, is gently suggest a chat with the doctor about pain management. Or they come over and help with the laundry. Dear Reporters, You are allowed to use both your brain and your moral sense when choosing how to cover a story. When someone calls you... Read more
To join the discussion about Rise of ISIS, a Threat We Cannot Ignore, or to order a copy, go here. This month at Patheos we’re discussing Jay Sekulow’s book Rise of ISIS. For a general review, check out Rebecca Hamilton’s comments here. She’s been documenting the state of affairs in Iraq all summer, so her perspective is well worth your consideration. What is this book? The Rise of ISIS is a call to arms, plain and simple. The authors document the heinous... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In