No paradoxes were created in the making of this interview, in which Jen Fulwiler of Conversion Diary speaks from the perspective of her past self. She introduces the interview this way: Seven years ago, I found myself in a place of great upheaval. I was in the middle of a profound religious conversion and found myself in a no-man’s land, adrift from my old belief system, yet not fully integrated into my new one. Now this is the part that... Read more
Like it or not, we are all part of that family — as we see in the story of a drug addict who infected dozens of patients in the hospital where he worked, and the young judge who thought hard about his sentence. Read more
PIC Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth “Help, help, I’m being oppressed just because I’m a woman!” Women Priests — No Chance by the redoubtable Joanna Bogle. This came out in 1997, after John Paul II reaffirmed the Church’s teaching that it ain’t gonna (can’t) happen, ever. Despite the abrupt title, this article goes beyond pointing to the long, unbroken tradition of the male priesthood, and draws out (or at least introduces us to) some of the reasons why Christ... Read more
Here’s a dreadful little story: Russian couple faces jail time after taking their injured baby to be baptized instead of treated. A couple in St. Petersburg, Russia is facing charges for failure to assist a person in danger after taking their injured baby to church, instead of the hospital. The two-month-old baby had sustained a head injury in a minor car accident, Russian news outlet RIA Novosti reported, despite the fact that he was in a car seat. He died by the... Read more
Enjoy listening to one of the most sublime musical accomplishments of the 21st century, which may or may not mesh well with your non-mocking, cynicism-shedding, satire-eschewing Adventy self: Ahhhhhh. Okay, now be good. Read more
My sister Abby Tardiff is once again providing a template for advent chains. 1. Go to this link on Dropbox and print out all six pages. Cut along the lines so you have strips. 2. If you want to be fancy, you can paste the strips to colored paper — purple for the first, second, and fourth weeks, and pink for the third. If you don’t want to get fancy, just use them as is, or let the kids... Read more
I was having lots of fun scrolling through this list of Worst Christian Book Covers of 2013. A couple of favorites: and this: and of course this, which should win all the prizes ever, for everything, but most of all for the most courageous use of “spray paint” tool in a professional setting: “Most intelligently designed” indeed. But then I got to #7 on the list of Worst Christian Book Covers of 2013, and what to my wondering eyes... Read more
In the words of our nation’s foremost prominent Catholic bloggess, here ya go. Read more
Hiding and shining in the middle of every Hail Mary. Read more
This post originally ran last year on the Register. ***************** Happy Thanksgiving! I know that many of you are very busy and/or really depressed today. Some of you are alone, and many, many more of you desperately wish that you were. So, rather than tax you with a challenging or insightful essay, I thought I’d take this opportunity to clean up my inbox and answer a few of the questions that people have asked me recently. *** Dear Simcha, By... Read more
I Have to Sit Down
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