Christians are supposed to boast of our weakness. I am glad of that, because I am weak, and feel that I’m getting weaker. Christmas Eve was uneventful. I watched Christmas cartoons by myself because Rose is too grown-up for them now, and then we went to Midnight Mass. It was Rose’s first Midnight Mass, and my first since well before she was born. That was exciting. The bishop presided, standing at the altar between ridiculous white-light-festooned artificial pines, singing... Read more
It always feels a bit awkward when Christmas falls on a Saturday, because all of a sudden it’s Holy Family Sunday. Funny to look at Sunday’s readings compared with Saturday and the night before. Twenty-four hours ago, Jesus was an infant, and today He is twelve years old, wandering off in the temple without His blessed parents. The cousin of Jesus who was barely in the third trimester when we learned about Him at Mass two weeks ago, will... Read more
I keep coming back to the Magnificat. That’s the name of my blog, after all: Steel Magnificat. I live in the Steel Valley and my prayer is the Magnificat. I was baptized Mary Elizabeth, so my namesake Gospel story is the Visitation. It was in the readings at Mass recently, and I pondered it again. I’m pondering it now, on Christmas eve, as the sun goes down. Mary went out into the hill country to visit her older cousin, Elizabeth.... Read more
I should probably have a hot take on the recent controversy over the restrictions to the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite. I never pretended to be a theologian or a liturgist. I don’t care for the Extraordinary Form myself; I prefer the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom which is much older and prettier than the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite. I’ve done my share of poking fun at Traditionalists, and they often deserve it. But not... Read more
It hasn’t been the brightest Holiday season. I’ve been struggling with my poly-cystic ovary syndrome, specifically the anxiety it causes. My nerves are in a constant jangle and I’ve had a few nasty panic attacks. I thought the first Advent and Christmas with a car to go exploring in would be exciting, but the anxiety makes it harrowing. I thought we’d get home to Columbus and see my friends at least once, but it looks like that won’t happen,... Read more
Welcome to the annual Christmas party! Help yourself to a hot buttered rum. Mind the big bowls of popcorn; we’ll be needing those later. Now, before we begin our annual holiday festivities, there are a couple inveterate party poopers in attendance that I’m just going to have to address. First, we have the omnipresent Smug Anti-Theist who thinks they’re getting off a good one by pointing out that a lot of Christmas traditions come from earlier pagan celebrations. I’m not... Read more
Over a week ago now, I went semi-viral on Twitter for sharing a photograph I took of my local six-foot-tall municipal John Calvin nutcracker. I write a lot of haunting things into which I pour my heart and soul, and people don’t notice them. Whenever I get retweeted dozens of times, it’s for something goofy like a John Calvin nutcracker. A surprising number of people would love a municipal John Calvin nutcracker for their very own, as I found... Read more
It was another irritating day on Catholic social media. Lately there hasn’t been any other kind. A crabby Latin Catholic traditionalist tweeted “One should stay home instead of go to the Novus Ordo, change my mind.” And although there were a huge number of comments and indignant re-tweets, I don’t think anyone could. He was adamant. These types of traditionalists are legion on Twitter, and I’ve met them in Steubenville as well. They’re incredibly persnickety about only attending one type... Read more
This weekend was the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and also Gaudete Sunday: a beautiful juxtaposition. So of course, some man tried to ruin it. A very foolish professional internet troll decided to post a hot take on the Virgin Mary, on the anniversary of her apparition to Saint Juan Diego at Guadalupe. He retweeted a photo of the miraculous tilma with the caption, “Mary is the greatest saint and queen of Heaven. But she evangelized ZERO, literally, because she... Read more
Hey folks, This isn’t a real blog post, this is just your regular reminder that Steel Magnificat, and my family, run on tips. Besides a tiny paycheck from Patheos, usually two figures a month lately, gratuities from satisfied readers and royalties for my books are my only income right now. Some of my readers drop a little money in the tip jar whenever they can, and some subscribe to send me tips through Paypal every month. The button at... Read more
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