Today, Ash Wednesday, the Gospel reading is from Matthew, on almsgiving in secret. I offer to you an alternate reading which approaches the Lenten season from a different direction: Mark 8:27-33. (more…) Read more
Today, Ash Wednesday, the Gospel reading is from Matthew, on almsgiving in secret. I offer to you an alternate reading which approaches the Lenten season from a different direction: Mark 8:27-33. (more…) Read more
Looking for some spiritual reading during Lent? Might I suggest the complete Opus Evangeliorum of Saint Anthony of Padua? Paul Spilsbury has translated St Anthony’s major work into four English volumes (go here to read Paul Splisbury describe the background in which they arose). While they are said to be “sermons,” they might be better seen as notes for sermons, commentary material which suggest different ways one can engage the Biblical material for a given week (based, of course, on... Read more
At America Magazine, Matt Malone has a blog post entitled Who is Truth? Here are a couple excerpts that caught my eye: A friend recently told me that he was participating in a new inter-religious initiative at a Catholic university in Europe…It was with a sense of relief then that my friend told me that in the interests of “keeping the peace,” the dialogue participants had decided “to bracket questions of truth.” I wished him well, of course, but what... Read more
Longtime Vox Nova readers will be familiar with my habit of writing about Natural Family Planning from a supportive yet self-critical point of view. I seem to have found a kindred spirit. Over at Roma Locuta Est, Jake Tawney has recently published a post called The Effectiveness of Natural Family Planning. In it he dismantles the idea that NFP is 99% effective. Now, before you get your dander up you need to know two things. First of all, Jake is... Read more
Introduction and Part II The text continues to address intelligence as found in the virtuous life, insisting, moreover, that being human, being a rational creature, is manifested by such virtue.[1] One should not pretend piety, but act.[2] Wealth is not seen as an indication of virtue, and indeed, an untrained, undisciplined rich man or woman is seen as being cursed by an evil influence, while a poor man or woman filled with virtue is said to be blessed. “A wealthy... Read more
Conservative economists have it wrong. The underlying problem isn’t that so many Americans have priced themselves out of the global/high-tech labor market. It’s that they’re getting a smaller and smaller share of the pie. Yes indeed. Friday’s unemployment news was good only in the sense that the raw numbers are moving in the right direction; unemployment decreased from 9.0 to 8.9 percent. But, as Reich says, the new jobs ain’t like the old ones: But to get to the most... Read more
People like to talk about the evils of communism while neglecting all the atrocities committed in the name of capitalism. In Libya, some pilots flew their jets to neutral territory rather than strafe and bomb their fellow countrymen. President Warren Harding placed the same choice upon US pilots when he ordered troops to suppress the unionization of coal mines in West Virginia. By August 29, battle was fully joined. Chafin’s men, though outnumbered, had the advantage of higher positions and... Read more
Introduction and Part II Next, we have a few paragraphs reiterating what has already been said: intelligent people take into consideration the consequences of their way of life, and will act in ways which benefit their soul.[1] They use what is necessary for life, nothing more; indeed, they will be so satisfied with less that the twist and turns of fortune will not harm them.[2] We must die to self-desire in order to find our true selves. “But because of... Read more
According to an article in the Catholic Transcript (newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford), EWTN has just filmed a series of “interviews” with 10 Catholic saints. The idea is interesting and if done well can give a human dimension to the saints. The 10 saints chosen are: Augustine of Hippo, Gemma Galgani, Gregory the Great, Louis de Monfort, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Robert Bellarmine, Catherine of Siena, Irenaeus of Lyons, Jean Vianney. This gives 3 women and 7 men;... Read more
Roughly 60,000 people in Wisconsin are going to lose their health care. In contrast, 2,000 homosexual couples, of which 800 resided in Iowa, were granted marriage licenses in Iowa over a 1-year period. Other states in the United States are ripping health care benefits away from people. Likewise, President Obama has declined to further defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the courts. Why is one being practically ignored by Catholic media and bishops? Why will I find people in... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In