Saw a headline this morning about a young woman daring to bare skin for health and safety. I didn’t click through, but the photo suggested this was not some horrid case of misogynist cult oppression in a tropical dictatorship. More along the lines of: My very typical American school dress code impinges. I will not claim that you can dress modestly and still be fashionable. When the fashion is to maximize sex-appeal, you can’t demure on sex-appeal and still accomplish... Read more
Over at CatholicMom.com, I explain why you need to kick out of your brain that imaginary mother living in your head. Mythical Mom is what happens when you take a few general impressions and fill in the blanks with heroic detail: Mythical Mom is the warped product of charitable thinking (it doesn’t do to assume your new acquaintance is a lousy housekeeper until you have hard evidence it’s so) combined with broad experience. You know this mother who runs her... Read more
Over at Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples Forum, someone asked: Anyone have any thoughts on how to approach teaching sacraments to high school students in an evangelizing way? The other responses were excellent, and helped me form my thoughts. Building on the ideas of several others, here’s my answer: Everything you teach, you put in the context of the Good News. The sacraments are all about your relationship with God. When describing what happens in the sacraments, use active voice... Read more
Remember way long ago at the first of the month, when I wrote on eugenics and discrimination against people with disabilities? To help you put the “forced sterilization” portion of that picture together, combined with a summary of the legal situation that made such atrocities possible (and the legal situations that still exist today), Frank Weathers has compiled some mighty thorough, but entirely readable, normal-person-compatible reporting: The Tragic Tale of State-Sponsored Eugenics in America. Read. Read. You need to know... Read more
Quick note from a friend of mine, John McNichol, author of my favorite Catholic steampunk Chesterton-themed YA action-adventure novels: Howdy, folks! I’m putting together a few speaking engagements this summer to help fund the kids’ Steubenville conferences. If you’d like me to come out, spot me a plane ticket, a couch to sleep on, and contact me for a reasonable & affordable fee. Topics? You pick, I deliver! Here’s a link to a few local talks I did for the... Read more
We’ve got a new round of Catholic internet drama going, and it hardly matters what the excitement is this time. I’m keeping my nose out of it, because otherwise my post will lose its perennial freshness. Ever ancient, ever new — that’s Catholic craziness for you. Meanwhile, for those who haven’t sworn off iGossip and taken up gardening or macrame, here’s my three top tips for keeping your head on straight and your friendships in order, even when someone’s wrong... Read more
“If you’re not living for God and only for God, you are going to end up teaching something short of the Catholic faith.” –Me, talking catechesis with Fr. Dwight Longenecker. Artwork courtesy of Catholic Radio in South Carolina Read more
At Mass Wednesday, Father E., who can’t get his hair cut without every daily-Mass-goer weighing in on the wisdom of his grooming habits, did a preemptive strike on What Happened to Ascension Thursday?! complainers. The thrust of his homily: The bishops in their wisdom moved the observance of the feast to Sunday so that as many people as possible might hear this most important message. How important is this message? It’s so pivotal to our faith that when Melanie Bettinelli invited... Read more
At this writing, I am the poster child for Better Living Through Chemistry. If we were to rely on a drug-ad cliche to sum up the post-prescription transformation, one might reach for the old reliable, “I got my life back!” And that would be nonsense. I’m not ungrateful, I’m tremendously grateful. I’m thoroughly enjoying this dramatic change in circumstance. I certainly don’t mean to squash the happiness of anyone who’s experienced some similar reprieve. Nor would I ever dismiss the... Read more
Over at the Catholic Writers Guild, I share my private correspondence for the good of many. Because yes, if you’re a Catholic writer — or aspiring Catholic writer — you really ought to register and attend the Catholic Writers Conference if you can. The Catholic Writers Conference is just two months away now, and you might be wondering, “Should I go to Chicago? Is it worth it?” You aren’t the only one. From my inbox: So the CWG Live conference. My... Read more
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