Is there such a thing as appropriate dress for church? Should we be able to attend Mass in any old thing, or should we dress up for church? In my humble opinion, western civilization has turned into a bunch of slobs. All one has to do is walk through Walmart to see that there is no sense of shame left in some people. Not that I would want to go back to the days when high society people changed clothes... Read more
A serious concern in the Church is that a majority of Catholics do not believe communion involves receiving the actual body and blood of Christ. Apparently, these Catholics are unaware of the miracles that prove transubstantiation. A 2019 Pew study showed that 69% of all self-identified Catholics said they believed the bread and wine are symbolic only and are not converted into the actual body and blood of Christ. Fortunately, about 62% of those who regularly attend Mass believe, but... Read more
A dangerous way of thinking is that some people have more value than others. Therefore, it is acceptable to kill those of lesser value through abortion or euthanasia. The Church teaches, however, that there is equal value in everyone. On October 30, 2021, Michael Johnson died at the age of 33. His death made national news, and he was mourned by thousands of people. Who was Michael Johnson? You may know his father, Ernie Johnson, the host of TNT’s “Inside... Read more
Isn’t the purpose of a Catholic college to strengthen and promote the Catholic faith through its students? To educate future Catholic leaders in their spiritual development and cement their Catholic principles? The Catholic nature and environment of a school should permeate student education and not be altered to accommodate forces outside the Church. Loyola Marymount University and Planned Parenthood The shocking situation at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles this past week is an example of how far astray from... Read more
Perinatal Hospice is only part of the picture when an unborn child is not expected to live past birth. There are other issues to consider when a diagnosis is termed “lethal” or “incompatible with life.” In a previous blog on September 22, 2021, I discussed using perinatal hospice to comfort parents of a stillborn or dying baby. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/09/blogs-musingsfromthepew-p272/ However, in cases where the unborn child has serious medical issues, there is more to be considered before death occurs, if it... Read more
Opposition to capital punishment involves forgiveness, hope and nonviolence, but the main issue is God’s sole power over life and death. In 2018, the official Catechism of the Catholic Church was changed to declare that capital punishment is “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and “inadmissible” in all cases. The previous Catechism had permitted capital punishment if it were the only way to defend human lives against unjust forces, but such executions were thought to be... Read more
Why is there a critical need for college evangelists? Citing a 2009 Pew survey on its web site, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) answers that question: Almost 80% of those who leave the Catholic faith do so by age 23. Only 30% of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing. A 2018 study on young adults leaving the Catholic Church found people stopped identifying as Catholics at a median age of 13, long before they ceased attending... Read more
Since more than half of U.S. Catholics (56%) favor legal abortion, we should review the Catholic connections to legal abortion history. Perhaps an understanding of how Catholics were targeted will help those deceived to see the value of the Church’s position. Pro-abortion people say abortion is a women’s issue, so men should have no say in the matter. Funny thing, it was two men who founded NARAL and engineered the acceptance of abortion in America. Lawrence Lader and Bernard Nathanson... Read more
What’s in a church bulletin? Anything important? Do you take one home each week? Do you actually read it, or do you just check for certain reminders and bypass the rest? In our travels, I always make sure to pick up the bulletin of any church we visit. It is a wealth of information about that church community — an indicator of parish life. Only a very few times have I looked at a bulletin and said, “This parish is... Read more
Misogynists love to quote St. Paul’s admonition about the submission of wives to their husbands in Ephesians 5:22-33. However, they usually cite just the first three verses because, like all those wanting to twist the truth, they need to quote out of context. The lines about wives read pretty much like the societal rules of the times. St. Paul was steeped in those rules, having been a learned Jewish zealot before his conversion to Christianity. It is not unexpected that... Read more
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