The other day I took a funeral for Arthur– one of our WWII vets. He was a sweet, faithful and good Catholic gentleman and a decorated WWII pilot. At the graveside a couple of Marines were present in their dress uniforms for the flag ceremony. They stood tall with shoes shined and hat brims low. After the Catholic ceremony one soldier stood at attention while the other bugled “Taps”. Then he stepped forward, smart and correct. They took the flag... Read more
David Carlin observes here that as Cultural Catholicism dies out other advantages are won. When photography was invented in the middle of the 19th century some people feared that this new practice, especially when color would eventually be added to it, would doom the art of painting. Since the camera could represent visual reality much more accurately than could the paintbrush, painting would be less in demand, and the quality and quantity of painters would decline. Sooner or later the old... Read more
All around me I see religious leaders trying to make the faith relevant for people. Whether it’s a Protestant pastor laying on parenting classes or the local megachurch advertising drug free rehab sessions, or maybe it is a Catholic priest doing his best to provide a hip hop sermon and a groovy style, or perhaps it’s a sincere pastor who spends all her time housing the homeless and feeding the hungry, maybe it’s the community church with cool music and... Read more
On Sunday I will head off to England for a short visit to attend my sister’s funeral. I’m looking forward to going. It will be a sad event, but Denise loved England too and loved an Englishman. The visit will be homage to her life and to my own love of the damp lands. I have such mixed emotions about England. I spend twenty five years of my life there. Just before we moved back to the USA I had... Read more
Here is my latest article for Integrated Catholic Life I’m glad doubting Thomas is a saint because gives us permission to question our faith. While we call him Doubting Thomas it might be better to call him Difficult Thomas or “Thomas who had difficulties”. There is a difference between a doubt and a difficulty. Blessed John Henry Newman wrote, “Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt.” When we start to think through our Catholic faith we would be negligent... Read more
When considering the depravity of our times it is easy to imagine that things are worse now than they’ve ever been. What is most shocking in our time is not only the corruption, greed, sexual immorality and depravity, but that so much of it has been accepted by the leaders of Christian churches. They actually endorse greed, divorce, sexual immorality, abuse of the poor, perversity, disobedience to parents, rebellion and all sorts of unimaginable depravity. They do so, all in... Read more
During Lent this year our small parish community faced sudden death five times. In started when a father of three in his early fifties–a faithful usher, parent at our parish school, Knight of Columbus and girls basketball coach collapsed with a heart attack. Ten days later a good friend of his and a man who’d been a parishioner for years collapsed and died–also with a sudden heart attack. Then the weekend before Holy Week one of our families, heading to... Read more
Guest blogger Mantilla Amontillado is the founder of Veritas Vestments. She holds a degree in Ecclesiastical Haberdashery from Salamanca University. She has done the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella three times on horseback and is engaged to the famous matador, Senor Augusto Torquemada. What you say Hon? What do I think of Pope Francis never wearing nice clothes? Eh. I’ve already said what I think here where I write it for Padre. I think when you’re the pope you should... Read more
This excellent, clearly written article explains how the complexity of the physical universe demands a designer. But has modern science, from the beginning of the 20th Century, proved that there is no God, as some commentators are now claiming? Science is an amazing, wonderful undertaking: it teaches us about life, the world, and the Universe. But it has not revealed to us why the Universe came into existence, nor what preceded its birth in the Big Bang. Equally, biological evolution... Read more
Pascal Emmanuel Gobry admits to having confused thoughts about married priests here. The topic is confusing. As soon as you come up with a good reason for married priests a good reason not to have married priests presents itself. There are many different aspects of this discussion. Here’s one: Con: “We can’t afford married priests! Do you know how much it would cost to support a married man and his family!” Pro: “Surely the question is not whether we could... Read more
Fr. Dwight Longenecker
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