Well, that was fast! Now you see it, now you don’t. This morning I wrote about an offensive commercial advertising a popular Australian yeast spread, AussieMite. In the video, an attractive young woman approaches a bishop in the communion line to receive the Eucharist and then, to my horror, takes the consecrated host out of her mouth and dips it into a jar of the brown pasty stuff. The bishop is first shocked, but then at her invitation he, too,... Read more
William Peter Blatty, Academy Award-winning author of The Exorcist, has joined with other alumni of Georgetown University to oppose what the Cardinal Newman Society has called “rampant abuses of Catholic identity” at Georgetown. Blatty and more than 1,200 concerned alumni, students, faculty and parents have signed a canon law petition asking Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, to remove the label “Catholic” from the school because of its continuing embrace of secularism. Since Catholic university leaders signed the Land O’Lakes... Read more
In the ersatz world of Big Advertising, sex sells. Apparently, so does outrageous blasphemy. I just ran across this ad for the Australian spread AussieMite, depicting a young woman dipping a consecrated host into the brown paste, then offering it to the bishop.  “It’s sacrilicious!” the ad says. The company describes its product as “a delicious premium savoury spread, leading on taste, nutrition and the finest quality ingredients. Yeast-based, non-GM and gluten-free, it re-defines a traditional staple for the 21st... Read more
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, that day when the pregnant Mary travels from Nazareth to Bethany in the hill country to visit her older cousin Elizabeth. Mary seeks support, advice, perhaps a shoulder to cry on—for she must have worried what people would think, seeing her condition. Wouldn’t they be scandalized? And what does it all mean? Elizabeth, seeing Mary approach along the road, rushes out to greet her. To Mary’s delight, Elizabeth—long childless, and probably approaching... Read more
If you are a baby in the town of Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos, Spain, LOOK OUT! Around the world, Catholics and some other Christians celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi two weeks after Pentecost, the Sunday following Trinity Sunday on the liturgical calendar. This year, the feast will be celebrated in the United States on Sunday, June 2. On the feast, which is also called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Catholics honor Christ... Read more
Call it the ultimate hole-in-one. Golfers in Washington State who dream of spending all their time on the course have a new option for the hereafter: At Sunset Hills Memorial Park’s new golf-themed burial ground, dearly departed golfers can rest in peace near the hole, on the green, in the sand trap, or in an ossuary under a bronze sculpture of a golfer. Framed by nature, on undeveloped land near a wooded area at the back of the traditional cemetery,... Read more
Negligence. Ignorance. Inertia. These are some of the reasons why Catholic dioceses might offer employees’ health insurance plans which include coverage for contraception which violates Church teaching, according to Dr. Janet Smith. Dr. Smith, who holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, was Al Kresta’s guest on “Kresta in the Afternoon” May 28. She was responding to a New York Times article which reported that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of... Read more
In its third season on A&E, the reality show “Duck Dynasty” has vaulted to the top, bringing fame and fortune to the bearded, duck-hunting Robertson clan. The show’s third-season finale on April 24, 2013, attracted 9.6 million viewers—making it the highest rated telecast in A&E history. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ve seen the good food, the long beards, and the firm faith of the family who got their start manufacturing duck calls in a dilapidated Louisiana toolshed. ... Read more
ATHEIST NUMBER ONE Last night, my imagination was sparked by an entry I read over on Reddit. The long comment, titled “An Atheist’s Love Letter to /r/Catholicism”, had been posted on the /r/Catholicism subreddit. The writer, an atheist, had been confused by the recent publicity surrounding Pope Francis’ statements on atheism, and stopped by the /r/Catholicism subreddit to ask a question. There, to his surprise, he found not division and criticism and mockery, but genuine theological discussion and explanation. Although... Read more
Pope Francis caused quite a stir with the atheists last week, didn’t he? The pontiff, celebrating Mass on Wednesday at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, declared that everyone—including atheists—was redeemed through Jesus. “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics,” the Pope said. The media was abuzz: The Huffington Post headline read, Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics The New York Daily... Read more
Seasons of Grace
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In