Over the past week we ran a poll to find out how frequently our readers go to confession. The poll closed last night at midnight. It’s pleasing to have received over 250 votes and perhaps surprising to learn that about 80 percent of our voting readers go to confession. Of course, we’re looking at a small and hardly random sample. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that significantly less than 80 percent of all American Catholics go to confession. It figures... Read more

Readers of this blog know how much we have been discussing the Sacrament of Reconciliation here lately.  Webster started it the day before St. Valentine’s Day. He followed it up with this post the day after Valentine’s Day and a poll that drew over 250 votes. I threw in this post on Scriptural references to the Sacrament and Webster wrapped the discussion up with the thought that we can’t help ourselves.Prior to these posts, I had a little fun juxtaposing... Read more

I found this today, while playing tiddly-winks (er, I mean plotting a course to the next waypoint) with Webster in the cockpit. It is from the Eastern side of the family and very appropriate for Lent, don’t you think? This is based, in part, on Psalm 141, Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me, hearken unto me, Lord I have cried unto Thee, Hearken unto me, attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry unto Thee,... Read more

I told a friend yesterday morning that I was “really excited about Lent,” and the words sounded strange coming out of my mouth. It was a bit like saying I couldn’t wait for my own funeral. Tonight I will go to sleep with a cross of ashes on my forehead, a gritty reminder of my own imminent death.  When I was a Protestant child, I remember wiping the dirt off a friend’s head at school, only to be informed that... Read more

The Season of Lent is upon us. This is one of those mysterious times of the year that, before I was a Catholic, I always wondered about. Growing up, we never observed Lent. Of course, now I know that Lent is celebrated by not only the Catholic Church but also the Orthodox Church, and it is even celebrated by some of the mainline Protestant churches. (more…) Read more

I’m a small-time book publisher, and though I haven’t done the hard research, I’m pretty sure that if you look at the history of the trade, do-it-yourself books peaked before self-help books. The first told my father’s generation how to fix a leaky faucet. The second told my generation how to feed a hungry heart. Late in my own life, with my father gone, I am more convinced than ever that his generation (WWII) was great, mine (Boomers) second-rate. Pretty... Read more

A little over a month ago I wrote a little post, Because We Are A Bible Believing Church.  Webster’s two recent posts (here and here) and our poll (see sidebar) on the Sacrament of Reconciliation (aka Confession) have generated plenty of comments from readers. In light of the fact that a good number of you may not be Catholic, I think it’s a good idea to let you know how I approached this Sacrament prior to my own conversion. And how... Read more

Words fail when a young person dies suddenly and seemingly for no reason. On the battlefield, we understand. After a long illness, we are better prepared. But alone, over the weekend, without warning? It’s not enough to recite “To An Athlete Dying Young.” Even a funeral mass may be scant consolation.Last night, a group of friends gathered in a Franciscan chapel in Boston to say a Rosary for a 19-year-old youth named Brixton. We recited the Glorious Mysteries and stood... Read more