The Lord will provide. Trust in the Lord. Those are maxims we are told repeatedly because they are true! Not that you get everything you request, but when the time is right with the Lord, merely asking will get you what you need. The Example of Servant of God Blandina Segale My mother’s favorite book was At the End of the Santa Fe Trail, the journal of Sr. Blandina Segale (now a candidate for sainthood). This book is also one... Read more
There is a corollary to my belief that there is something good in everything bad (See: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/12/good-from-bad-turning-the-tables/): There is something good in every person, no matter how bad. The diarist Anne Frank had a similar belief. Despite the terror of her existence as a Jew hiding from the Nazis, she wrote: “People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.” She added, “In spite of everything, I still... Read more
During our Christmas vacation, we attended a Catholic church where a noticeable number of women were wearing chapel veils. The reasons for this practice are, I think, misguided. Scanning the literature on this topic, I found several defenses of women wearing a veil or mantilla. They claim that it is not a misogynistic practice, and pious excuses are given, but the arguments are full of holes. Modesty, Humility, and Modeling Mary Advocates say that wearing a veil is a symbol... Read more
At Christmastime, it is often mentioned that the holidays are a torment for people who don’t have or can’t visit family. Some people endure Christmas in loneliness and despair. My answer to this problem is the same answer I give for most everything: go to Church! The Extent of Our Loneliness Our country is currently experiencing two epidemics: COVID and loneliness. Already in 2018, a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Economist showed that 22% of adults... Read more
One of the benefits of the Catholic Church is that you can rely on Mass being the same no matter where you are. Everything is familiar and you know what to do, so you always feel at home. For a long time, my husband and I took our vacations over Christmas. We picked some place we hadn’t visited before and planned a sightseeing trip. We almost always went somewhere in the South to avoid wintry conditions. I love snow, but... Read more
Something good always comes from something bad. I firmly believe that. I haven’t ever found a situation where that expression proved false. The reason must be God’s grace. Some will challenge this belief with examples like the Holocaust. How could anything good come out of such evil? Yet aren’t there countless stories of people helping the persecuted, of good counteracting the evil? The bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were horrible, but have you noticed that no other atomic bombs have... Read more
The subject of married priests is one that is broached frequently among Catholics. It is supposed that more men would be interested in the priesthood if they didn’t have to take a vow of celibacy. The reason for the increased consideration of this change is the shortage of priests, which has resulted in multiple problems. There are not enough to serve all the parishes, leaving priests unsurprisingly stressed, fatigued and lonely. Many do not now have the companionship of other... Read more
According to popular opinion, the Catholic Church is still mired in the Inquisition and still ignorant of modern science. After all, look what they did to Galileo Galilei. Every time I hear a critic of Catholicism mention Galileo, I want to say, “Really, you’re going to bring up something that happened 400 years ago? Talk about not moving on!” Harping on Galileo is especially ridiculous since most of what people believe is myth. Vatican Astronomers Attempting to dispel this myth... Read more
“Why do Catholics do that?” is a question often asked. I think we could say in return: “Why don’t other Christians do that?” For example, Catholics are known for using incense, but why don’t Protestants use it as well? Old Testament Use of Incense The Biblical significance and symbolism of incense warrants its place in worship. In Psalm 141:2 we have the plea: “Let my prayer come like incense before you.” Revelation 8:4 says: “From the angel’s hand the smoke... Read more
Did you know that the oldest Marian shrine in the United States is in St. Augustine, Florida? Did you know that shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of La Leche y Buen Parto, that is, Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery? It is not surprising that our oldest Marian shrine is in the oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States. What might be surprising, however, is the long history of the devotion to Our Lady of La... Read more
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