Antique lace appliqués detail the silk bodice and cascade down the skirt of a tea-length dress. Five layers of gathered tulle create a voluminous A-line silhouette. MOMS AND DADS: This is one of those times when I really want to know what YOU think! I heard a story this week from a friend, a teacher at a Catholic elementary school, about current trends in First Communion fashion. My friend made the point—correctly, it seems to me—that the significance of this... Read more
QUESTION: Al Qaeda, Hamas, Catholics and the KKK. What do these groups have in common? ANSWER: All of these groups are “dangerous extremists” according to the United States Military. In a training program for military reservists, the U.S. Army Reserve has included Catholics in a bulleted list of religious extremists. Explaining “extremism” for their new recruits, the military training slide explains: Extremism is a complex phenomenon; it is defined as beliefs, attitudes, feelings, actions, or strategies of a character far... Read more
The Internet’s been abuzz this week with news that Patti Burke, a cracker-lovin’ woman from Melbourne, Florida, has had a message from God. During Holy Week, the earnest Christian woman opened a package of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (she eats two to three pounds of them every week) and discovered that one of her crackers was misshapen—and that the oddly fashioned cracker featured a cross and a crown. Sure that she had received a sign from God, Burke called the company,... Read more
The New York Times reported on April 5 that a federal judge in Brooklyn has overturned the government’s restriction on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill, which had been available only by prescription for girls 16 and under. Senior Judge Edward R. Korman of the Eastern District of New York ruled on April 4 that Sebelius’s decision on Plan B One Step was “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.” The question of who should have access to emergency contraception has been a... Read more
They say that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who always finish their sentences, and those * * * * * In our happy household, there is one of each kind. My husband always finishes his sentences. He also balances his checkbook, folds his t-shirts before stacking them neatly in the drawer, and backs into his parking space so the car will be ready to pull out in the morning. Me? I flit from one idea... Read more
Last week, I and others in media reported on the scandalous testimony of Planned Parenthood spokesperson Alisa LaPolt Snow before a committee of the Florida Legislature. Ms. Snow, asked by Florida State Senator Jim Boyd what Planned Parenthood would do if a child were born alive following a failed abortion, expressed the conviction that any decision [whether to kill the child] should remain between the woman and her doctor. The interview deteriorated, with Ms. Snow averring that an abortion clinic... Read more
OH MY GOSH, I almost forgot to tell you about this! You are invited to submit comments regarding the latest version of the HHS Mandate; but the deadline for feedback is next Monday, April 8, at midnight. Could you work fast and get your comments in? In the first comment period, conservatives flooded the mailbox with logical comments about the Constitution and the right of conscience. It’s time to do it again! In February, the White House supposedly modified the... Read more
There was a great hullabaloo in the blogosphere last week, when word got out that Pope Francis had washed the feet of two young women on Holy Thursday. Was this licit? Was it a rejection of ecclesiastical law? A return to Gnosticism? A bad example for confused Catholics in the pews? Today in St. Peter’s Square, speaking at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis may have tipped his hand—showing us the direction he is headed with regard to the role... Read more
First, a couple of stories: Years ago, our family visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Originally located in what had been the beloved illustrator’s home, a successful fundraising campaign made it possible for the museum to move to a larger space on the outskirts of the city. I have always loved Rockwell’s depiction of life in America. I hadn’t known, though, until our visit about some of the warm symbolism in his art. Remember the famous Four Freedoms... Read more
The feisty writers over at Patheos’ Catholic Portal are a diverse lot: a rough and tumble mix of converts and reverts and cradle Catholics. I am all of the above. I am a Cradle Catholic because my parents herded me to church on Sunday mornings, scrimping and saving to provide twelve years of Catholic education. I disappointed them, though, when I reached adulthood—veering into a guileless agnosticism, then stumbling back to belief via Unitarian Universalism (such lovely music!) and evangelicalism... Read more
Seasons of Grace
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