A reader has sent me a link to this female Episcopal priest who does not take the usual liberal line that abortion should be ‘safe, legal and rare.’ Instead she preaches that abortion is a blessing. Here’s the quote:“And when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in... Read more

The Word who became all things for us is close to us, our Lord Jesus Christ who promises to remain with us always. He cries out, saying: “See, I am with you all the days of this age.” He is himself the shepherd, the high priest, the way and the door, and has become all things at once for us. In the same way, he has come among us as our feast and holy day as well. The blessed Apostle... Read more

I’m reading Bernard Ruffin’s biography of Padre Pio, and love this juxtaposition: Padre Pio was almost an exact contemporary of Rudolf Bultmann the German Lutheran theologian who, out of a regard for the difficulty modern men and women have in accomodating the traditional teachings of Christianity to their twentieth century perceptions, devised a theology that ‘demytholigized’ the gospels, stripping away such uncomfortable baggage as miracle and other accoutrements of a ‘first century worldview’ in order to get at what he... Read more

I haven’t been blogging recently because I’ve been sort of overwhelmed by the state of the world, the worries of the financial crisis with the threat of civil unrest and possible war. Combined with this I have been discouraged by the complacency and corruption of Christians in the face of evil. We are all so attached to the things of this world–we love money, we love other people wrongly, we love ourselves. If only we could learn proper detachment. I’ve... Read more

This article from CNA combines Hilary Clinton’s visit to Guadalupe, where she had a special viewing of the miraculous image with news that she is to receive Planned Parenthood’s highest award–the Margaret Sanger award. The irony of all this is thick enough to cut with a knife. OL of Guadalupe (as Hilary probably didn’t know) is pictured pregnant and is she is therefore not only the patroness of the Americas, but patroness of the pro life movement. Hilary Clinton says to... Read more

John Collier–who painted the contemporary Annunciation I posted yesterday has commented on the blog! If you like his picture go here to view more of his work. Read more

This article highlights the teen binge drinking problem in the UK. This article comments on new ‘get yer abortion’ here ads in the UK. I won’t say much about either problem because I’ve written about it before. What does amaze me about the English at this point in time is how they constantly believe that ‘the government’ has to do something about these problems. Every government in England has been helpless to address these profound problems, but especially the present... Read more

We’re off to Charleston today for the ordination of our new bishop. Do you like this painting of the Annunciation by Collier? Working with middle school girls it helps me to see the purity and power and grace of the Blessed Virgin in them. I like the natural symbols in the picture. The door that only she can open, the window, the classical design of the architecture hinting that she who is the temple stands by a temple. The lilies... Read more

Here is an article I wrote some time ago about the hand of St Etheldreda. Cardinal Newman wrote, “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.” If you live in England, as we do, it is almost impossible not to be deep in history. So, for instance, when I go to the bank in our local town I walk past a building with a plaque on the outside wall. The plaque tells me that King Alfred the... Read more