Can I be a terrible, horrible person and remind you that it’s almost Halloween, which means it’s almost Thanksgiving, which means it’s almost Advent, which means you will soon be looking at the calendar in disbelief and realizing that you need small but thoughtful presents for any number of people, and you have no idea what to get them? Be not afraid! (See what I did there, JPII?) Robin’s Soap is here. You may remember Robin’s Soap Shoppe... Read more
Heard this guy for the first time on the radio this morning, and it made this sleepy white lady’s hair stand on end. If I heard right, Son Little descrbes his music as a Wu Tang Clan sea chanty with Beatles singing backup. I haven’t bought an album in about ten years, but I think it’s time to change that. Woo! Read more
PIC wizard watching chicken It does mean: The Holy Spirit works kind of like MSG, enhancing and heightening the “flavor” of the virtues that you’ve already worked to develop — virtues like self-control, prudence, mercy, and self-sacrifice. After you pray for guidance, you’re probably not going to find yourself doing something utterly foreign to your normal nature or inclinations; but you may find that you have deeper reserves of patience than you expected, for instance, or a temporary ability to work harder than you’re normally... Read more
Children are good for society, fiscally and in every other way. Children who are well-cared for, who aren’t forced to go to school sick or spend lots of time alone, and parents who aren’t utterly exhausted and wracked with guilt at all times, make families who give stability and peace to society as a whole. So even if we’re only looking out for our own self-interest, it’s best for everyone when parents are given as much freedom and flexibility as... Read more
PIC deformed tree My son, who is twelve, recently wanted to buy a comic book, and as he leafed through the pages, he liked the story, but was disturbed by some of the gory images he saw. The comic book guy reassured him that he would get used to it over time. And I agreed. Sure, you can get used to it, and eventually it wouldn’t even bother you any more. But why would you want to do that to yourself? Read... Read more
Remember when Ann Coulter pronounced missionary Dr. Brantly a big jerky, inconsiderate showboater for going into Africa to treat Rbola patients, like selfish, jerky showboaters tend to do with their “Christian narcissism”? Remember how little good Brantly was doing, according to Coulter, with his thoughtless act of leaving his perfectly good country and then coming back home? Well, guess whose blood is helping to heal the nurse who selfishly contracted Ebola while caring for a dying man in Dallas? Yarr, Dr. Brantly’s blood. Back in July, Brantly “received... Read more
Oh, time is getting away from me! I kept meaning to say, I will be in Williamston, Michigan on Sunday morning, speaking at St. Mary Catholic Church for their Ekklesia Project series. There will be Mass at 9 AM, then breakfast, then my talk. The topic is “One Weird Trick to Being a Good Catholic Family.” How to identify “one weird trick” thinking in your spiritual life, and what to do instead. Hope to see you there! I may or... Read more
Yesterday’s second reading at Mass had two major ideas: (1) God wants everyone. (2) Not everyone wants God. In this parable, the king has invited all the expected, honored guests to his son’s wedding, but they not only refused his invitation, but abused and killed the messengers who invited them. This is old news — as old as Adam and Eve, as old as the War in Heaven — and would not even be a story at all if the king didn’t... Read more
Anybody remember when this happened? PIC statue behind box This was back in 2011, when the NAACP hid a prominent statue of George Washington inside a wooden box during a MLK Day rally, offering the terminally lame excuse that the box that shielded the crowd from Washington’s face would make a more suitable backdrop for the rally’s speakers. The NAACP denies any intention of disrespect, but their narrow view of history is no secret: anyone who owned slaves is... Read more
If you’re like me and most of my American Catholic friends, any combination of the words “American” and “Catholic” gives you the heebie jeebies. Either you’re going to get one of those “Jesus was a republican, and food stamps are a mortal sin” tirades, or else we’ll be treated to another learned treatise on how the one thing the Pope needs to do right now, IF he’s really the Pope, is to pronounce anathema against people whose disgusting little irreverent offspring eat... Read more
I Have to Sit Down
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In