Steel Magnificat - Everything is grace

Your Opportunity to Perform a Work of Mercy

December 9, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

I have a request for my readers. I want you all to help me obtain justice and mercy for a young woman who has been severely abused. Cyntoia Brown is a young woman who reports that she was forced into prostitution from a very young age. She was sexually and physically abused by her pimp and had been the victim of many, many rapes. When she was sixteen years old, she shot and killed one of the men who… Read more

One Crying Out in the Desert

December 9, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the… Read more

No, Dr. Marshall, Gingerbread is not Effeminate

December 8, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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On today’s episode of What Public Catholics are Angry About Now: Dr. Taylor Marshall is angry about gingerbread houses. Specifically, he’s angry that a seminarian would participate in a gingerbread house decorating competition. He tweeted as much just now: “How Fabulouth!” says Marshall. ” These seminarians had a gingerbread house making contest and Corey won. This is effeminate and puerile, and it’s why some Seminaries are horrific. Grown men don’t gather to decorate gingerbread. (Can you imagine Basil and Gregory… Read more

No, Pregnancy is Not a Sin

December 5, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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“Thou hast committed fornication; but that was in another country; and besides, the wench is dead.” –Kit Marlowe I give you the above quote only because it has the word “fornication” in it, and because I always like a touch of artistry in my posts. There’s not much artistry to be had today. I need to be rather dull and explain something about Latin Catholic teaching to Latin Catholics who ought to know better. I apologize if my readers… Read more

An Urgent Opportunity to Help Feed the Hungry

December 3, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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You’re in luck! It’s the first Monday of Advent and God’s given us a wonderful opportunity to show Him hospitality today. This morning, Christ appeals to us in the disguise of an immigrant with nothing at all to eat. My friends are raising money for several asylum-seeking families in Maryland. These people are not here illegally (not that that should matter to a Christian when a human being needs food anyway), they are legally living in Maryland while they… Read more

In Infamy

December 2, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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I’m going to teach my first-grader about World War Two. We’re listening to Tomie DePaola’s excellent 26 Fairmount Avenue series, and we’re just beginning the first book about the “war years.” That’s a good place to start. I decided to make it into a homeschooling unit study that will look nice on her portfolio this summer. I’m also going to read her the Molly McIntire American Girl books and possibly Lowry’s haunting Number the Stars. We’ve begun to watch classic… Read more

Your Redemption is at Hand

December 1, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud… Read more

A Visit With Colonial History

December 1, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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Rosie and I went down to the Nutcracker Village and Advent Market, which was great fun, and I’ll write a lighthearted post about that fun later. Toward the end of our trip, though, I found myself sad. This year, the historic Federal Land Office is open to the public free of charge during the hours that the Advent Market is open in the Nutcracker Village. I’d never seen it before. It’s a tiny log cabin on the grounds of Fort… Read more

What are you Doing for Advent?

November 30, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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The glorious season of advent is almost here! What are you going to do to prepare your hearts for Christmas? The absolute best advice I’ve heard so far has come from a couple of comments on a thread on the Unvirtuous Abbey facebook page. Instead of being That Christian who gets offended when shop clerks don’t say “Merry Christmas,” even though it’s not the Christmas season for us until actual Christmas, it was suggested that we ought to all… Read more

The Journey of the Unwise Magi

November 29, 2018 By Mary Pezzulo

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The Friendship Room posts their needs online almost daily. They recently asked if anyone could bring them powdered coffee creamer. I had powdered coffee creamer, unopened, that I didn’t need just then, and I hadn’t had a holy hour in the Adoration chapel that stands next door to the Friendship Room in a long time. I packed the creamer in a bag, and walked two blocks to Oregon and Woodlawn to wait for the next bus. The bus did… Read more