For a lonely widow, a photograph can trigger a memory of happier days–but so can the familiar scent of her husband’s shaving lotion, his pipe tobacco, the shirts in his closet. Katia Apalategui, grief-stricken after her husband’s passing, found consolation by burrowing her face into her late husband’s pillow, allowing his familiar scent to renew memories of their years together. So Katia had an idea: Why not create a perfume which matched her late husband’s scent, so that she could... Read more
Last week,the issue of gun control came to the fore here in southeastern Michigan. That’s because a local Ann Arbor pastor, Fr. Ed Fride, announced to his congregation that there would be a four-hour Concealed Pistol License (CPL) class at the parish. In a letter to parishioners at Christ the King Catholic Church, Father Fride explained that the class would be offered on two or more Saturdays, and he encouraged people to take advantage of it. “We’re not in Mayberry... Read more
Through the years, I’ve met several people who have worked in the abortion industry, and who have then experienced a dramatic conversion and joined pro-life forces: Abby Johnson, whose work on behalf of Planned Parenthood is recounted in the book Unplanned; Carol Everett, former abortion provider and former owner of several abortion clinics in the state of Texas; Rebecca Hamilton, Catholic blogger and former legislator who served as director of NARAL in her home state of Oklahoma before embarking on a long... Read more
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE was originally published February 6, 2015, as America began to understand the course which former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner was taking, heading toward a new self-identity as a transgender “woman.” In an interview which aired on April 24, Jenner spoke with ABC’s Diane Sawyer about his gender identity. “My brain is more female than it is male,” claimed the troubled athlete. My wish for him: Not gender modification, but responsible psychological counseling to help him to... Read more
“Deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed” for the sake of giving women access to “reproductive health care and safe childbirth.” That’s the message Hillary Clinton delivered to the 2015 Women in the World Summit on Thursday, April 23. What she means is that Catholics and other Christians who find abortion abhorrent must be freed from their backward faith so that women can kill their children up through the date of delivery, without fear of reprisal.... Read more
Are you a budding creative genius? Well, here’s your chance to put that creativity to work: Inspired by the upcoming Disney movie “Tomorrowland,” the Walt Disney Studios, Disney Citizenship, and XPRIZE are announcing a nationwide challenge for young innovators age 8-17. Beginning April 22, 2015, Disney’s Create Tomorrowland – XPRIZE Challenge invites kids to imagine themselves in the future and report back to the present through video imagery or stories about one new and amazing invention or innovation they encounter,... Read more
“At the end of ‘Schindler’s List’, you saw Schindler crying. Asked why, he explained that he could have sold his car and saved one more. He had saved so many Jews from extinction, and yet he felt guilty he had not done more. I asked myself: ‘What am I doing for others? Am I doing all I can?’ “ –Alejandro Monteverde Alejandro Monteverde is writer, producer and director of the new film LITTLE BOY, which opens in theaters across America on Friday,... Read more
Why are more women attracted to religious life in Britain, while the number of new vocations continues to decline here in the United States? According to new statistics just released in the United Kingdom, the number of vocations to women’s religious orders in Britain has tripled over what it was only five years ago. And in 2004, there were only seven women who entered British convents, taking the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. According to The Guardian: Figures... Read more
It’s finally Spring in our corner of the woods, and we’ve begun the laborious task of raking, bagging, and lugging the bedraggled remains of Winter from our front yard. So it was that I, cleaning the remains of Winter’s storms from our front lawn, found myself in casual conversation with a neighbor who is “spiritual but not religious”–and so it was that I heard about The Ghost. My neighbor believed The Ghost to be the restless spirit of a man who’d lived... Read more
When Fr. Joseph Illo, the pastor at San Francisco’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church, announced his decision to train only boys to be altar servers, some parishioners and others protested. Amidst the hullabaloo, the media jumped at the chance to criticize both Fr. Illo and his beleaguered bishop, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Religion News Service quoted Fr. Illo, who explained his reasons for enacting the policy: The first…is that “boys usually end up losing interest (in altar service) because girls generally... Read more
Seasons of Grace
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