Some links around the web today: First, National Review Online‘s editorial: The real argument for continuing to treat marriage as the union of a man and a woman is that marriage and marriage law exist to channel sexual behavior in a way that promotes the flourishing of children. They exist, that is, to solve a problem that does not arise in same-sex unions: that heterosexual sex often gives rise to children. They exist to uphold the ideal that children need... Read more
Today’s the feast day of St. Josemaria Escriva. Go figure. On a day today that has proven to be mildly earth-shattering in terms of wake-up calls about democracy and culture … he offers (as he typically does) a reminder that we have no excuses when it comes to our Christian call. We’re called to be saints every day. We’re called to share Christ, for real. Saint Escriva says: There is no excuse for being unproductive. Some might say “I don’t... Read more
The above is a good and honest question, if you’ve been watching the Obama administration. Look away, they said, during the campaign. What they’ve communicated might be best summed up and translated for transparency: We’re all about “women” and their “reproductive health” rights and “health care” and, oh, by the way, if we and our friends lead you to believe Mitt Romney and a bevy of Catholic bishops want to take away your contraception, single women, we are all too... Read more
Over at Catholic Voices USA (which I am a director of), Elise Italiano mentions Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty, who founded Madonna House. The passing reference had me hungry for her riches, and Magnificat today did not disappoint. The passage is titled “How Christ Comes to Heal Us” and follows: The Mass is the very breath of our spiritual life. There we are, face to face with the Lord of Hosts. There we become one with him. Then,... Read more
From Cardinal George’s deacon ordination homily in May: The goal of every Christian is to live constantly with God. We practice living constantly with God in this life so that we might be able to live forever with God in the next. God’s presence is felt most intensely in the liturgy and in personal prayer; but every moment of our lives is to be experienced with God in mind and in heart. Time not spent with God is time either... Read more
We have been known to make a cult of youth and our own supposed genius. We seek to invent our own wisdom, instead of going to its Source. Fr. George Rutler reflects on this arrogance with a little help from one of the great women doctors of the Church: There is a curious study in an academic journal of psychology. The study — titled “Intelligence” — claims that we in the twenty-first century have an average IQ fourteen points lower... Read more
Last night, a man at a checkout counter started telling me some alarming stories. About a crime around the corner earlier in the day, about crimes in his apartment building. It was all a bit jarring — and graphic. He obviously needed to talk. And when it was over, I simply said “God bless you.” I really didn’t have anything better. He’s got a job and is moving into a new place. I will be praying for him. And so... Read more
The June issue of Elle features Kerry Washington, from the sex-and-sex-scandal-drenched ABC series Scandal, in which she plays a former campaign and White House aide who the president cannot get enough of, and the reflex is mutual. Elle‘s cover and inside photo layout play up Washington’s sex appeal, with non-existent necklines and shorts that make Daisy Duke look modest. On the cover of the June/July first issue of Verily, a beautiful young woman in a frilly, flowered skirt walks on... Read more
How much do I love the Church? Do I pray for her? Do I feel part of the family of the Church? What am I doing to make it a community in which everyone feels welcomed and understood, feels God’s mercy and love that renews life? Pope Frances posed these questions during his Wednesday audience (in the rain that didn’t seem to bother the crowds). He said: “Faith is a gift and an act that has to do with us... Read more
I wish people listened to Cardinal Dolan’s Catholic Channel Sirius XM radio show like they watch The Voice or The Today Show — or whatever the top rated shows are these days. It’s an hour, so it affords him more time than a sound bite, a quote picked up in the New York Times — or even a homily at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Yesterday, he talked about a New York Times story Monday about a fund the Archdiocese has been... Read more
Kathryn Lopez
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