A few days ago, Pope Francis declared St. Gregory of Narek our newest Doctor of the Church. It appears that Grigor Narekatsi is a man of many talents. The hastily compiled list of his accomplishments on Wikipedia includes, “monk, poet, mystical philosopher, theologian and saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, born into a family of writers.” From what I gather, he composed some very beautiful prayers that I look forward to pondering as a part of the Lenten triumvirate of... Read more
I came across some wise words of a Doctor of the Church I had never heard of the other day. The subject? The importance of being merciful. For the longest time, and long before I became a Catholic, I thought being merciless was the correct tack. After all, that is the way of the world. So I was, in an upside down way, fasting from being merciful. (more…) Read more
Back in November I shared my opinion on the Yokohama YK580 tires. I was pretty rough on them in that review because I expect a lot out of my tires, and I was underwhelmed by their performance in wet weather. So let me tell you how they do in light snow and ice. (more…) Read more
So, there was this article published by The Atlantic online a week or so ago. You probably saw it. You might have even shared it on social media ( I know I did). It was written by Graeme Wood, titled What ISIS Really Wants, and it went viral. (more…) Read more
…and barely let him get a word in edge-wise. You have to admit that this is quite a feat. This happened last week, when I was a guest on Mark’s show Connecting The Dots. It’s 45 minutes of me rambling on about Why I Am Catholic, how my conversion happened, and why Truth brought me home, and keeps me here. It all started when Mark mistakenly called me an Ex-Marine. Oh, brother. (more…) Read more
It’s the Lenten season, and each of us will make a personal sacrifice of some sort. I’m not divulging what I am seriously sacrificing this time around. Maybe I’ll disclose it later, perhaps even years from now if I’m still hammering away on a keyboard. After seven years, I’m still learning my way through Lent. I’ll probably still be learning right up until I’m receiving Last Rites, though we don’t call it that anymore. (more…) Read more
What? You weren’t up for an early Lent this year? Too bad. We can’t even blame this on Punxsutawney Phil, either, as whether a groundhog sees his shadow (or not) has no bearing on the liturgical calendar. So what have I been doing during these dark, snow filled (and now ice filled) days leading up to Lent? Reading, naturally. Folks started yakking about the Crusades, and I thought to myself, “you know what? I don’t really no much about the Crusades.”... Read more
To become whole, and to live fully. As St. John writes, “In Him was life: and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness: and the darkness did not comprehend it…He was in the world: and the world was made by Him: and the world knew Him not.” (more…) Read more
I just ran across these thoughts by Reverend Jesse Brett over at my favorite electronic library. Oftentimes on Wednesdays I like to feature a poem. But after reading these few paragraphs on the Sacraments, I realized that I should share them with you. Brett is a bit of a mystery too, though I found out that he was the chaplain at All Saints Hospital in Eastbourne in the U.K. (in the 1920’s), I haven’t been able to uncover anymore information... Read more
Webster Bull, my friend, and former blogging partner, has written a memoir about the long, strange, trip that brought him into the Catholic Church. Jesus knows his sheep, even if we have no idea how to respond to His call. And sometimes in the seeking of Him, we get shanghaied unwittingly, and turned away from our true desire. Webster has made the story of his journey available for all to read over at his blog, Witness To Christ. After reading... Read more
Why I Am Catholic
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