How can the brutal armies of ISIS perpetrate such crimes? This fascinating article explains the psychology of savagery. War bonds people together in their groups and this bonding assuages some of the terrific fear and distress the individual feels when the state breaks down. It also offers self-esteem to people who feel humiliated by their loss of place and status in a relatively ordered society. To the extent that this happens, then individual and group identities partially merge and the... Read more

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes… I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I... Read more

Twice in the last three days I have had the privilege of attending the death bed of an old woman. In both cases the dear souls were surrounded by loved ones, and in both cases they were struggling in the final stages of their lives. Mostly  unconscious, they were moaning and their facial expressions indicated that they were in some distress. I introduced myself, and found that in both cases there was a non-Catholic Christian with us–a nurse and the... Read more

The violence in Ferguson shakes up a whole nation and we immediately look for people to blame. That’s the problem. The mark of Cain in the human condition is that we always, instinctively look for someone to blame: someone else. Anyone else. If there is a problem on an individual level or community level we become defensive, justify ourselves and seek to shift the blame. It’s there in that most profound of stories–the Garden of Eden. Father God: Adam. Did... Read more

Oh how people love that quote attributed to St Francis: “Preach the word at all times. Use words if necessary.” It has become one of those religious bromides alongside “To travel well is better than to arrive.” While the little quote is certainly true, and a cleverer way of saying “Actions speak louder than words” at the same time we need to be reminded that words are also necessary. But before we go there we should stop and affirm that... Read more

  Today’s post for Aleteia explains the situation for Christians in Iraq–outlining who the different groups are and explaining a bit of their history. In 2003. Christians in Iraq numbered about 1,500,000 and represented just over five percent of the population. Their percentage had fallen since 1987 when they were 1.4 million, or eight percent of the population. Since 2003, Christians of all denominations have endured extensive persecution. Their religious leaders have been abducted and murdered; they have endured threats... Read more

More than once I have made a Freudian slip of the fingers when typing and written “demonination” instead of “denomination”, and with more and more hip hop pastors wearing jeans and T-shirts maybe I should write “deniminations”…or maybe just get over it all and call them all “abomination” Catholics apologists are fond of throwing out the claim that there are over 30,000 separate Protestant denominations. “How does this fit with Jesus prayer that we should all be one with one... Read more