Archbishop Chaput has retired. He celebrated his last mass as a diocesan bishop Sunday at the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. “I’ll still be around. I’m not dying, I’m just retiring,” Chaput said. His successor, Archbishop Nelson Perez, was installed yesterday. From Catholic News Agency: Philadelphia, Pa., Feb 17, 2020 / 04:45 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Charles Chaput has been a diocesan bishop for 31 years. For most of that time, his people have known where to find... Read more
So, how do we fight monsters without becoming monsters ourselves? The short answer is that when we operate on our own power, we can’t. The temptations of monster-fighting are many and varied, but the most insidious of them is our ability to parse words, exploit meanings and paste ideas together to form new ideas. In other words, the greatest monster-maker of them all is our own excellent brain and its many talents. We can convince ourselves of anything. I know.... Read more
I’ve published this before. I think we could all use it today. Enjoy and be blessed. Read more
Yesterday was a difficult day for me. I had doctor’s appointments for myself, and I had to do the paper work involved in starting my mother in hospice. I also had several meetings with the various nurses and staff who care for her. Then, this morning at 0500, my granddaughter came to stay for the day. I’m telling you this to explain why I’m not going to write for a while. II’m tired my friends. I haven’t forgotten you. I’m... Read more
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you. Friedrich Nietzsche There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur, and dwelt there, dark and silent, until he wrought himself a new guise, an image of malice and hatred made visible; and the eye of Sauron, the Terrible Few could endure. JRR Tolkien, The Silmarillion... Read more
My husband and I are members of the ultimate sandwich generation. Our situation is so extreme that it almost qualifies us to be our own generation, unique to us. We are a couple of old retired folk, complete with gray hair, creaky joints, and in my case, the full aging catastrophe of cancer and ailing heart. At the same time, we are babysitting our precious-beyond-words grandchildren, taking them to preschool, cuddling them through flu and love-love-loving them. Our grown children... Read more
If you leave the Catholic Church, does a trap door open under your feet and drop you down a chute to flaming hell? No. Is the Catholic Church a highway to heaven? Yes. Is the Catholic Church the only way to find Jesus? No. I recently published an article about Pope Francis’ decision to not allow married priests and women deacons. That article contained this paragraph, “The women who thought that perhaps the female half of the human race would... Read more
The Nevada Caucus is next up in the nominating process for the Democratic candidate for President of the United States. So far, we’ve had one caucus in Iowa, which belly-flopped, and an election in New Hampshire. These two votes have shown that Dems are wary of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders has a committed following, Pete Buttigieg is running stronger than anybody expected, and — Surprise ! — Amy Klobuchar is moving up. These votes didn’t tell us much of anything... Read more
Nothing we can do will earn us eternal life. Forgiveness of sin is an impossibility of ourselves. At the foot of the Cross, the ground is equally level, and that is the one place where we can be redeemed. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In