Helping Women to Help Themselves: St. John Eudes

Last updated on: August 22, 2015 at 8:08 am By Kathy Schiffer

On August 19, the Church in the United States observes the optional memorial of St. John Eudes, French preacher and vociferous opponent of Jansenism. . St. John devoted himself to helping France’s “fallen women,” eventually founding a new religious order for them, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge. In 1666, the Refuge sisters received permission from Pope Alexander III to establish an institute to reclaim and rehabilitate wayward women who repented of their sin. . With... Read more

Today, an Appeals Court Loss for Michigan, Tennessee Catholics in HHS Mandate Case

Last updated on: August 21, 2015 at 10:29 pm By Kathy Schiffer

A federal appeals court ruled August 21 that nine Catholic groups in Michigan and Tennessee must provide birth control in their employee health insurance plans. The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Catholic groups’ claims that providing contraception violated the religious liberty of the Catholic organizations. It was the opinion of the Appeals Court that their religious rights are not substantially burdened by a process created by the federal government for opting out of providing contraceptive coverage due to religious objections. In... Read more

Courage International Helps Catholic Leaders to Welcome Persons With Same-Sex Attractions

Last updated on: August 21, 2015 at 4:07 pm By Kathy Schiffer

It was quiet around here last week–and that was due, in part, to the fact that I was at the Courage conference. Courage and its companion apostolate EnCourage help their members and their families their friends to move beyond the confines of the homosexual label to remain chaste, living a more complete identity in Christ. More than 400 clergy and lay professionals gathered at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Mich., on August 10-12. They came togeether to consider ways to welcome and... Read more

Encounters with Christ: 39 People Share Their Stories

Last updated on: August 21, 2015 at 7:35 am By Kathy Schiffer

This month the Patheos Book Club is featuring James Stuart Bell’s Encountering Jesus: Modern-Day Stories of His Supernatural Presence and Power. I’m a fan of books crammed full of stories–that is, books that you can read, one chapter at a time, in the light of a single lamp before you drift off to sleep for the night. That’s how I read Encountering Jesus: a little at a time, and I did enjoy the 39 stories of faith restored, visions confirmed,... Read more

Josh Duggar Has Sinned. So Have You and I. So Shall We Get Out Our Stones and Start Scribbling?

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 4:11 pm By Kathy Schiffer

The Duggar story just gets worse and worse. Josh Duggar, the oldest boy in the Duggar clan which had their own family-friendly reality show 19 Kids and Counting on TLC, is not the upstanding husband and father we thought he was. First in May 2015, Josh was forced to resign from his position as executive director of the Family Research Council, a conservative lobbying group in Washington DC, after In Touch Weekly popped the news that he had molested (or, “improperly touched”) five... Read more

Can a Catholic Sign a Prenuptial Agreement?

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 12:29 pm By Kathy Schiffer

A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed by two parties, specifying how personal property will be divided after the marriage ends. And since the Catholic Church teaches that a sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved, never ends, then a prenuptial agreement is a denial of that truth–right? Consider the admonition in Matthew 19:6, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” So Catholics can’t sign a prenuptial agreement, right?... Read more

How to Improve Women’s Sex Drive (HINT: It’s Not Addyi)

Last updated on: August 18, 2015 at 10:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Are you tired of prime time television commercials advertising drugs for erectile dysfunction? Well, move over, gentlemen–because the ladies are about to catch up! Today the Food and Drug Administration approved Addyi (pronounced ADD’ee), a prescription drug produced by Sprout Pharmaceutical which promises to increase sexual desire in women. But I’ve gotta tell you: It ain’t gonna work. For starters, there are the health warnings on the box–which are substantial, warning patients of serious side effects including dangerously low blood pressure... Read more

A Paraprosdokian That Christians Can Live By

Last updated on: August 16, 2015 at 10:20 am By Kathy Schiffer

Thank you once again to my dear husband, Deacon Jerry Schiffer, for giving me permission to repost his homily for this, the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). * * * * * A Paraprosdokian That Christians Can Live By by Deacon Jerry Schiffer I learned a new word this week that I thought I would share with you — “Paraprosdokian.” A paraprosdokian is a saying or figure of speech... Read more

Catholic Doctor Wins Religious Liberty Case, Need Not Prescribe Contraceptives

Last updated on: August 15, 2015 at 9:50 pm By Kathy Schiffer

A Philadelphia physician who was fired from her job for refusing to prescribe contraception or the morning-after pill, citing her Catholic faith, has won her case in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. The victory ensures that the conscience rights of other medical professionals will also be respected. For thirty-five years, Dr. Doris Fernandes worked at Philadelphia’s District Health Center. But the board-certified pediatrician was fired in 2013, after refusing to prescribe contraceptives like Depo-Provera and RU-486, the morning-after pill, to... Read more

DID MARY REALLY DIE? The Assumption Presumption and the Dormition Tradition

Last updated on: August 15, 2015 at 12:26 pm By Kathy Schiffer

On August 15, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Most years (although not this year, since it falls on a Saturday), the date is a holy day of obligation. The Church in her wisdom wants us to understand how important Mary is in our devotional life–and practicing Catholics are required to attend Mass. But depending on your faith background, you may think of this feast in one of two ways: As a Catholic, you celebrate... Read more