The most important person in the world is a woman. Barely even a woman, really. A teenage girl. The most important person in the world is a woman of a conquered race in an occupied country. The most important person is an only child, in a culture that views large numbers of children as a sign of Divine favor. She is a virgin in a culture where a woman’s identity depends on who she’s married to. The most important... Read more
It’s the Monday of Holy Week and I’m working on writing something prayerful and insightful that will be worth your while, I promise. But first, I just want to say a few words on the odd shenanigans that continue to happen surrounding the notorious and now defunct Catholic tabloid, Church Militant. Because I thought Church Militant was finally done for this past week, but it’s risen again, and I’ve seen donors wondering where their money went. If you read me... Read more
Jimmy the mechanic knocked at my door. I always know it’s him because he’s a bit short, so all I can see through the window is the small bump of his ponytail. When I opened, he was holding the gear shift of a car, attached to what looked like a long black rubber hose. Jimmy had been trying to fix his own vehicle for a solid month. He scrimped and pinched until he got enough for a junkyard... Read more
I want to draw your attention to an excommunication in the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana. The circumstances surrounding it make me sick, and they ought to make you sick too. I was just made aware of the story of a former deacon, Scott Peyton, who has been excommunicated by Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette just this week. This is the second time I’ve had to write about abuse in 24 hours, but I just can’t let... Read more
The feast of Saint Joseph was a particularly horrible day to remember that the Catholic Church doesn’t care about victims of sexual abuse. This week was the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the husband and protector of Christ and the Virgin Mary, someone I often pray to for victims of clerical abuse. I think that Saint Joseph is a patron for anyone who is vulnerable or in danger, and I love invoking him when I feel afraid. So it was... Read more
I keep thinking I’d better write about the presidential election again. This is hard to do, because the news keeps pouring out in a steady deluge. It’s so hard to write about the election because it changes hourly. Everything I say is old hat by the time I hit “publish.” Since I last wrote about politics, we’ve found out what could have already been guessed: the presidential election will come down to what amounts to two incumbents, Joe Biden... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John: Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to... Read more
It’s so hard to find any words just now. After I’ve been sick, the last thing to come back online is my writing brain. I was sick for a week, and then I had a bout of terrible insomnia that made it impossible to function normally. That’s how my chronically ill body often responds to being sick. After that I sleep too much for a few days, and then I go on a hike, and eventually the words come back.... Read more
I didn’t think I’d be writing about what’s left of Church Militant so soon. But I’m very grateful to be reporting at Where Peter Is yet again, with a follow-up on my post from last week! It seems that the sins of Church Militant aren’t done falling down on the heads of everyone who had a hand in them. I’ve discovered that Truth Army, Joe Gallagher himself, and one other defendant are being sued for three million dollars by Patmos... Read more
It’s really spring now. The world is recalled to life. I was raised to believe that exactly one thing gives life, and that’s God. Everything else is an illusion. The created things you love are obstacles to that one pure source of life I don’t remember when I was told that, or by who; it was conveyed to me, that’s all. Now I believe that life wells up for you in all kinds of places. One of those places, for... Read more
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