I’m not much of a sports fan—Just ask my disappointed husband! There are a few sporting events which stand out in memory, though; and going with my dad and my uncle to watch the Detroit Red Wings at Olympia Stadium is one of those golden memories. The players wore no helmets in those days, so it was easy to pick out the superstars: Gordy Howe, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk…. I was drawn back to those childhood memories when I read... Read more
The month of November brought both highs and lows for Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. On Friday, November 29, I told you how the Pope had blessed “Homeless Jesus”, a life-size sculpture by Schmalz depicting a barefoot, blanket-shrouded Christ, asleep on a park bench. Pope Francis blessed the statue on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica following the Wednesday General Audience on November 20. And now the bad news: On Saturday afternoon, November 30, another of Schmalz’ works was stolen from... Read more
Faith and Action, a Christian outreach to top elected and appointed officials in Washington, DC, will stage its annual Live Nativity on Capitol Hill, with stops in front of the Supreme Court and US Capitol buildings, tomorrow morning, Tuesday, December 3, at 10:00 AM to approximately 11:00 AM. According to Faith in Action: The procession of costumed actors and live animals, including a camel, donkey, and sheep, will begin at the Faith and Action ministry center, located immediately behind the... Read more
On Black Friday, as a choral group sang “Let It Snow”, a Minnesota man threw $1,000 over the fourth floor railing at the Mall of America. Serge Vorobyov, a 29-year-old from Apple Valley, was trying to do something positive and spread a little holiday cheer. It had been a difficult year for him: He was going through a divorce, and he’d lost his car-hauling business. His estranged wife had taken their cat, and had spurned his invitation to attend... Read more
Two years ago, in November 2011, I told the story of the iconic Crystal Cathedral, facing bankruptcy and forced dissolution, and the last-minute decision to accept the bid of the Diocese of Orange, rather than from competing bidder Chapman University. At the time, I interviewed Tim Busch, corporate counsel for the Diocese of Orange who had helped to broker the deal. Tim told me that as the deal drew to a close, one member of the Crystal Cathedral’s board told... Read more
Look up, look around. That’s what we do, really, we Christians, during this Advent season. We look up to our heavenly Father, and to the Son Who came to us in Bethlehem as a tiny baby, and Who comes to us still today. And we look around at the world in which we live—at the still, expectant winter nights, rich with promise; and at the people whose love shapes us, and whom we celebrate later this month with gifts from the heart. Malcolm Muggeridge,... Read more
There is a most excellent book titled A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy. Authored by Wesley J. Smith, it warns of the deleterious consequences of the animal rights movement. The title is evocative of a worldview which assigns moral equivalency to humans and animals; but everyone understands that it’s not true—that boys may OWN dogs and EAT pigs and KILL rats, but we’re not all the same. That is, until now. Now a geneticist who... Read more
The Archdiocese of Chicago has agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle a case in which a former priest abused a young man known only as “John Doe.” The victim, now in his early 20s, was a teenager and pre-teen at the time the abuse occurred. Following the court settlement, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held a press conference on November 26. Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, leveled several charges against the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese of... Read more
Imagine Jesus as a homeless man—with the wounds from his crucifixion evident on his bare feet. That’s the image which Canadian sculptor Tim Schmalz wanted to depict in his life-size bronze image of Christ, sleeping on a park bench, huddled against the cold in a blanket. The work is inspired by Matthew 25, and represents Christ as among the most marginalized in society. Schmalz explains that with the Christ figure shrouded by a blanket, the only indication that it is... Read more
Pope Francis, speaking this morning to Superiors of religious orders from around the world, announced that the coming year will be dedicated to Consecrated Life. The occasion was the 82nd General Assembly of the Union of Superiors General, which is meeting in the Salesianum, a hotel and conference center in Rome, on November 27-29. The Holy Father had been expected to speak for just a few minutes; instead, he chose to meet with the Superiors for three hours, engaging in a... Read more
Seasons of Grace
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In