Have you ever read a book by Patrick Madrid? If you have, I’ll bet you haven’t stopped at just one–that his easy style, clarity and humor captivated you, and you’ve picked up another of his titles along the way. I’m a fan, and here’s why: Patrick is a master of Plainspeak–not lofty theological prose which only a doctoral candidate could wade through, but clear, direct explanations for Catholic teachings and traditions. He writes apologetics for the masses, and I think he’s... Read more
The Muslims had a distinct advantage. They greatly outnumbered the Christians whom they oppressed. Their weapons were superior; their resolve was great; their willingness to kill anyone, even children, for their cause made them an unbeatable foe. Included in their army of determined Islamists were Christian slaves who had been forced to renounce their faith, and to join the Muslims in their assault on Christian townspeople. The Holy Father, realizing that the Muslims had a decided material advantage, called upon... Read more
For the first time since the Marxist revolution, a new Roman Catholic church is being erected in Cuba. The BBC reports: Its attitude to religion has softened since the fall of the Soviet Union, but this is the first Catholic church to be built for more than 50 years. The island nation has been communist since the overthrow of Fulgenico Batista in the Marxist revolution of 1959. (From that time until 1992, Cuba’s constitution said that the country was officially... Read more
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) will hold its annual meeting this week (August 12-16) in Nashville–and they’ve got some difficult issues to discuss. Michael Lipka, writing for the Pew Research Center, reports that the meeting comes at a time when the LCWR continues to draw scrutiny from the Vatican, while the number of women religious continues its dramatic decline. Lipka explains: While the church’s specific concerns with the nuns are complex, a few major areas were highlighted in a 2012... Read more
Go into all the world, said Jesus. Sister Cristina Scuccia, a 25-year-old Ursuline Sister of the Holy Family from Milan, Italy has taken that directive to heart. The talented religious won a standing ovation on the blind auditions for The Voice 2, Italy’s popular talent show. All four of the judges pushed the button that turned their chairs around to face the stage; and their shocked expressions upon seeing a Catholic nun belting out the lyrics of Alicia Keys’ “No... Read more
I’m not sure why I’ve never before read anything by Alice McDermott. She’s a Catholic writer with seven books and numerous articles to her credit, a university professor with an illustrious academic career. She received the American Book Award and the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction for her 1998 novel Charming Billy. Anyway, I hadn’t read McDermott’s books until this summer, when I’ve been enjoying her latest work, Someone. In Someone, McDermott tells the story of an ordinary life in extraordinary detail. Marie, the... Read more
What makes a woman beautiful? If the magazines in the checkout aisle are to be believed, women are beautiful if they are lanky, blonde, and air-brushed. If they carry a few extra pounds after that last pregnancy, if they have greying temples or a sagging chin or a furrowed brow, they are not trying hard enough! Contemporary media–television, movies, magazines and the movie industry–all support the idea that beauty is only skin deep. For the teen girl struggling to understand her... Read more
Well, today’s saint is someone to admire (and to emulate!) on many counts. Cajetan dei Conti di Tiene (1480 – 1547), the Italian priest whose feast day we celebrate today, might have some advice for young high school and college students today: The saint earned a doctorate in civil and canon law by the age of 24. Cajetan understood diplomacy: While still a lay person, he began service as a diplomat for Pope Julius II in 1506. He continued in that role even after his ordination... Read more
Swiss Bishop Marian Eleganti delighted the crowd by picking up his guitar and joining the band at the annual International Youth Prayer Festival in Medjugorje, July 31-August 6, 2014. Crown of Stars, a British blog which promotes the messages of Medjugorje, has the story: The 58-year-old Benedictine, who is auxiliary bishop of Chur in Switzerland, joined the orchestra and choir on the final day of the week-long event that attracts tens of thousands of young people and families from around the... Read more
“Maybe many young people waste too many hours on futile things, chatting on the internet or with smart phones, watching TV soap operas, and [using] the products of technological progress, which should simplify and improve the quality of life, but which distract one’s attention away from what is really important.” That was Pope Francis’ message yesterday to 50,000 German altar servers gathered in St. Peter’s Square. In response to a question from a young server who asked how, when there... Read more
Seasons of Grace
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