 The following message was written by my friend Jessica Mesman Griffith, and I share it with her permission: This is my official statement. You should hear it from me. You’ve become like family to me. I can only say I’m sorry I didn’t speak out sooner as maybe it would have spared others some pain. #metoo indeed. On Sunday, November 12, 2017, it came to my attention that there have been relationships between Jonathan Ryan, the co-founder of the Sick Pilgrim... Read more
The centuries-old prophecy has been fulfilled. The Virgin has conceived, and will bear a Son. Unto us a Son is given. The One who saw Satan fall like lightning to the sky, has descended of His own will into the Valley of Shadow, to pitch his tent among the exiles. The Wisdom that played upon the waters before they came to rest beneath the firmament, has entered the waters again. He has entered a womb. The womb belongs to a poor young... Read more
As I write this, we are six hours away from the start of Philip’s Fast in the Byzantine Catholic Church– forty days to Christmas. Latins have until December third but I don’t see that they can’t start praying with us now. I’d like to invite everyone to join Steel Magnificat for prayer and almsgiving this season. For prayer, I’ll be posting a series of meditations on the Sorrows and Joys of Mary, one every two or three days to get them... Read more
 I never in a million years thought I’d be defending the Slumgullion-in-chief. I defended Melania once, when she wore stilettos to survey the wreckage of Hurricane Harvey. I pointed out that women who wear heels on a regular basis get so used to them that flats hurt their ankles, so maybe this IS Melania’s version of sensible footwear. But I’ve never had cause to say anything nice about the president. He’s earned just about every nasty thing people are... Read more
I was thirteen. I remember, because I was leaving for my first overnight bus trip to the annual March for Life that evening, where we would all cheer about being “pro-woman, pro-child, pro-life!” My mother had stuffed my backpack ridiculously full of clothing and provisions, as if I were crawling on my knees to Canterbury instead of leaving the house for a little over thirty hours. I had stuffed my copy of The Two Towers into the top of the backpack; I was quietly wishing... Read more
Saint Philip’s fast starts less than a week from today! Latin Catholics don’t start Advent until December Third this year, so you guys still have a couple weeks to get ready. Those of us in the East are getting down to the wire. What do you plan to do for Advent? I wrote, several months ago, that I don’t like to ask “what are you giving up for Lent?” because I think framing penances that way can put us in... Read more
My daughter has been on a Beverly Cleary bender, lately. Don’t get me wrong, I like Beverly Cleary. She’s a brilliant novelist for young children, and I spent many happy hours reading her books when I was a girl. Dear Mr. Henshaw is a haunting tour de force. Ramona is spunky and relatable at any age. I felt a great kinship with Beezus, and still do. I liked reading Beezus and Ramona and Ramona and her Father to Rose while she toddled around our... Read more
I did it. I finally did it. I successfully made and ate stew. We almost never have pot roasts or stew beef in the house, because it rarely goes on sale until it’s just about to go green, but Michael had gotten two beautiful discount pot roasts at buy one, get one free. We almost never have potatoes in the house; we eat the dehydrated mashed potato flakes. And before anybody chides me for wasting money on dehydrated potato flakes,... Read more
I recently encountered a gentleman who was sure he knew the truth behind last night’s horrendous mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He informed me that the shooter was “a supporter of Antifa,” and that he couldn’t provide sources proving this but that he’d read about it online. I, too, read about it online. Specifically I googled “Texas shooter antifa” and got two links, one from The Blaze and one Infowars rant. No reputable news source was reporting on Devin Patrick Kelley having... Read more
There has been another shooting. I could have opened a blog post with that sentence any day in the past year and not been wrong. The only difference is in the details– the venue, the magnitude, the motive if any was known; the race of the shooter. Race ought not to make a difference, but tragically in this country it will determine the manner in which everyone reports on the mass shooting and demands that we do nothing about it. When black... Read more
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