Spoiler alert: NO. Across America, communities are gearing up for the 2013 Walk For Babies. A fundraising initiative of the nonprofit March of Dimes, the Walk For Babies is purportedly intended to help prevent premature births. I remember my own mother marching in the March of Dimes campaign in the 1950s. Up and down the street, people turned on their porch lights to indicate that they were ready to help in the campaign. I helped to count the dimes Mom... Read more
“Catholic fans! Hey, you know, say a rosary! Sunday morning for the Ravens!” That’s the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh speaking. A lifelong Catholic, Harbaugh—the older brother to San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh—was the subject of a 2008 article by George Matysek Jr. in Catholic Review. In it, Harbaugh professed to liking to ring the bells as a young altar boy attending Mass; and he spoke fondly of the nuns whose kind discipline shaped his character, sometimes requiring... Read more
Prayer Warriors, you are needed. This week has brought stark reminders of the vulnerability and the vincibility of priests: From the disclosure of Cardinal Mahony’s inaction in the 1980s, when he failed to remove abusive priests from positions of responsibility, to the reports of a priest in Springfield, Illnois, donning an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and a bondage hood, then calling 911 for assistance—we’ve seen too well that clergy are only human. I’ve been a little out of sorts, unwilling to... Read more
It’s great to be Catholic—We have so many cherished friends crowding around the throne of God! And one of my favorites has always been St. Blase. Read more
In southeastern Germany, in the region of Bavaria, there stands an octagonal chapel which dates back to A.D. 660. The chapel, constructed of native stone, is home to a small limewood statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, darkened by age, by the smoke of thousands of candles which have burned there, and by a fire which nearly destroyed it in A.D. 990. The chapel is known to native Germans as the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting or the Chapel... Read more
He was not wealthy. He was not educated. He was not well known. He was an alcoholic. But Matthew Talbot is on his way to becoming a saint. * * * * * Matthew Talbot was born in 1856 to a poor family in the North Strand area of Dublin, Ireland—the second of twelve children. His father was a heavy drinker, as were most of his brothers. Matthew left school at the age of 12 to work in a wine... Read more
One imaginative moment seems now to matter more than the realities that followed. It was the first bullet I heard—so far from me that it “whined” like a journalist’s or a peacetime poet’s bullet. At that moment there was something not exactly like fear, much less than indifference; a little quavering signal that said, “This is War. This is what Homer wrote about.” –C.S. Lewis I was delighted to see in The Blaze an article featuring some never-before-seen photos from... Read more
An armed robber in Lake City, Florida, had plans to rob a group of women attending a jewelry party–but he was no match for their faith. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyg6Qs_-O60 Read more
The town of Orvieto is an Etruscan city located in the scenic region of Umbria, between Firenze (Florence) and Roma (Rome). I first visited the medieval town of Orvieto in 2002, and again in 2006. It’s the eucharistic miracle which is preserved there that I want to tell you about today—but first, let me tell you a little about this picturesque little town. * * * * * Getting Up There – Orvieto sits atop a volcanic rock, on a... Read more
In Angels of Paris, author Rosemary Flannery reveals a cityscape filled with angels: angels peeking out of dark corners, peering down from pillars and flagpoles, hanging effortlessly from the long wall of a government building. I counted 170 of them but there may have been more, hidden in the folds of a young woman’s skirt, bowing before the duchess, flashing shy smiles from door knockers, park benches and flower pots. Flannery, in her new book Angels of Paris: An Architectural... Read more
Seasons of Grace
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