A Wee and Angry Word of Thanks to the Bishops? UPDATED

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

In my column at First Things today, I recount a bit of personal family history: My mother—let’s call her Alice—was born during the Depression to a couple who could neither hear nor speak, and were rather famous around Coney Island for their ability to initiate spontaneous parties and sustain them for whole weekends. They were the polar opposite of today’s “helicopter parents.” For them, parenting was not half as interesting as playing the ponies, their factory-shift work, or partying with... Read more

The Hound of Heaven’s Haunted Author

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Whether tapping away at McNamara’s Blog or writing a feature for his column, “In Ages Past”, Pat McNamara is always worth reading. His short, engaging historical pieces on — mostly American — Catholics. This week, however, he outdoes himself with a look at Francis Thompson, author of one of the most celebrated, transcendent poems in Catholicism, and a tortured, sensitive soul: It’s a poem that every Catholic schoolchild knew once upon a time. Eugene O’Neill could recite Francis Thompson’s “Hound... Read more

Mothers of the Church

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

In the mail comes, Mothers of the Church: The Witness of Early Christian Women, by Mike Aquilina and Christopher Bailey. It’s the follow-up to Aquilina’s hugely popular book, The Fathers of the Church. A book of martyrs, mothers, abbesses, desert solitaries and (believe it or not) entrepreneurs who “left their mark on sacred history by responding to God’s call. Included are some of my favorite women: Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Saint Thecla, Saint Agnes of Rome, Saint Monica, Saint Macrina,... Read more

Why Not Beautiful Churches?

Last updated on: June 11, 2015 at 1:44 am By Elizabeth Scalia

One of my cousins is a Capuchin priest. He has worked very closely with the very poor and disadvantaged for decades, and he bristles when people talk about “frivolous beauty” or “liturgical pomp”, and when they declare that beautiful things should be stripped down and sold for the poor. “You help the poor by being with them, living and working with them; being one with them, because one of the biggest needs of the poor is the reception of a... Read more

The Fruit of Chastity

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Max Lindenman has a good post up, on how to write about sex, when one is Catholic. Since we Catholics tend to do that a lot (one of the frankest bit of Catholic writing on sex I have ever read — and appreciated — was Elizabeth Duffy’s essay on the subject, included in Hallie Lord’s Style, Sex and Substance), I appreciated Max’s very honest take on his own evolution on the issue: A few weeks ago, Joanne McPortland wrote a... Read more

Sacred Sex: is a Doorway to the Eternal

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Tim Muldoon winds up his five-part series on the “McDonaldsization of Sex” with some splendid theology: Here’s God’s proposal: “if you choose to enter into a lifelong relationship with a person of the opposite sex, and choose to love that person in every moment of every day for the rest of your life, you’ll come to know who I am and how I love the people I’ve created. It will demand all of you; it will demand sacrifice and conversion... Read more

NRO’s Summer Reading List

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

NRO’s annual Summer Reading List is up and you can find my suggestions on page 6 of this long, excellent list. Some of you may be surprised to note that I did not include Sigrid Undset’s Stages on the Road among my suggestions, but since I wrote the foreword to it, I guess I felt like suggesting it might be too self-promoting. I did notice that I was the only woman participating, but perhaps many more were invited and scheduling/busyness... Read more

July 4th Epiphany: Identifying World’s Problem-maker!

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

One of those pieces I forgot I wrote and now repost almost every year, by request (from July 3, 2006) “Anchoress identifies source of world’s problems” Against all sense, and my own better judgment, I today took a trip to the local Costco in order to buy hamburgers, chicken legs and marinade in the mass quantities needed in order to entertain guests on the Fourth of July. It was there, in the teeming, steaming rotisserie chicken section of the store... Read more

“It’s a Tax!”; “It’s a Penalty!”; “It’s a Ta -!”

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Apparently Mrs. Pelosi tripped over some clunky, in the way talking points. I know I’m dating myself, but all I can think of is: It’s a floor wax, and a dessert topping! Ed Morrissey has more thoughts on the Obamacare ta–, pena—, floorwax Read more

“As THIS sort of person, THAT offends me…”

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:32 am By Elizabeth Scalia

A couple of weeks ago I chronicled my boredom with media, with our talking-head culture, and most particularly with the predictability of what passes for punditry, these days. Most of the people to whom we give willing (or unwilling) access to our ears and our time have become so incapable of thinking beyond their programming or of moving away from their preferred scripts, that there often seems little reason to turn on the news, pick up a paper or even... Read more