The news this week has been full of celebrity passings: Rev. Sun Myun Moon, founder of the Unification Church and self-proclaimed messiah, dead at 92. Michael Clarke Duncan, Academy Award-nominated star of “The Green Mile”, dead at 54 after suffering a myocardial infarction back in July 2012. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, passed away August 25 at the age of 82. Phyllis Diller, one of the great women of comedy, died August 20 at the... Read more
A new Google Chrome add-on blocks photos of babies, replacing them with jokes or political posts or photos of cats. Unbaby.me is like… well, it’s like “Virtual Contraception.” According to MSN’s Tech and Gadgets blog, GeekTown, the add-on will replace baby photos on Facebook, the world’s most popular social network, with pictures of cats and whatever else it thinks is “awesome stuff.” My son is of an age when many of his friends are settling down, marrying and starting a... Read more
On the first Monday of September, Americans say goodbye to summer with picnics and parades, fireworks and festivals. Traditionally, it’s the last day for women to wear white. It signals the start of the NFL and college football seasons. It’s Labor Day! The first official Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882, with a parade organized by the Central Labor Union of New York as a way to honor the economic and social contributions of workers. President Obama, in his 2012 Labor Day... Read more
There were so many great vendors at the CMN, selling * * * * * One display that garnered a lot of attention was this one, from an organization called Canning Hunger. Called “Sackcloth and Ashes,” the collection of intricate burlap sculptures of Jesus came in three versions: The Teacher Crown of Thorns, and Prince of Peace Hand crafted, as... Read more
Following is the closing benediction which was offered by Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the RNC last night. With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray: Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom, and on all of those who proudly call America home. We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end... Read more
Isn’t this beautiful? This is the window in the offices of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. On January 15, 2011, in accordance with the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus of Pope Benedict XVI, the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established for groups of former Anglicans in England and Wales. The personal ordinariate is organized in such a way that “corporate reunion” with the Catholic Church is possible, while also preserving distinctive Anglican patrimony. The ordinariate... Read more
Books and Bibles, rosaries and rock carvings, window clings and children’s things. This week, it’s my great privilege to attend the 16th Annual Catholic Marketing Network trade show. Concurrent with the trade show, the Catholic Writers Guild LIVE! and the Catholic New Media Conference are featuring some of the most compelling speakers in the Catholic world. So the hotel and the hallways are filled with friends: Catholic authors, booksellers and businessmen, priests in Roman collars and habited nuns, and hundreds... Read more
Riverview is a quiet bedroom community stretched along the Detroit River, about fifteen miles south of the central city. Catholics in the city worship at St. Cyprian Catholic Church on Pennsylvania Road near Fort Street, the major traffic ribbon which leads northward to Detroit. Last week thieves broke into the parish’s shed for the second time in a month, despite recent security enhancements including stronger locks and more lighting—stealing thousands of dollars worth of lawn and snow equipment. The total... Read more
Wow, so let me ask you: Were you at Mass this morning? (Say yes, say yes…!.) Here we are, smack plop in the middle of Ordinary Time, and I can’t stop reflecting on the three GREAT readings! First, there was Joshua: He’s called together delegates from all the tribes of Israel. He wants to know, where are their loyalties? Whom will they serve? The gods of the Amorites, in whose land they are now living? Or will they serve the... Read more
I invited Al Kresta, CEO of Ave Maria Radio and host of the nationally-syndicated “Kresta In The Afternoon,” to comment regarding the controversy that’s been swirling around Cardinal Dolan’s invitation to President Obama to participate in the Al Smith Dinner. I knew I could count on Al to deliver a poignant response, well considered and well expressed. What follows is a first for me: A guest post by Al Kresta! (more…) Read more
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