Posted by Webster  Here is where G. K. Chesterton sank his teeth into me. By the end of chapter 5 of Orthodoxy, I was thinking about two people for whom I have the highest regard, the highest love imaginable. In my personal reading, this chapter describes as well as anything could my father, David Bull, and my wife, the former Katie McNiff. I’ll do my best to explain. Chapter 5, “The Flag of the World”The chapter’s title is also its central... Read more

Tonight we will be reading and discussing the fifth chapter of G. K. Chesterton’s short book, Orthodoxy. The chapter is titled “The Flag of the World.” What a great title! What a great chapter! Has everyone done their homework? I thought not. The following are members in good standing of the YIMCBC: Mary P., Kneeling Catholic, EPG, Goodalice19, Mujerlatina, Mike, Regina, Mary R., Pennyyak, Turgonian, Frank, and Webster. Leave us a comment and you, too, can be a member. Read more

Posted by Webster “Have you ever taught CCD?” I asked Ferde one day, before teaching my own first class. “Yes,” he said, “once. It did not go well.” Today marked the return of my dear friend to religious education, and it went very well indeed. Explaining the Real Presence to fourteen fourth-graders, “Mr. Rombola” had them eating out of his hand. Look at those boys listening to him. You would have thought he was reading Harry Potter or Treasure Island, not... Read more

Posted by Webster Ordinarily I bow to any article that gets top-headline treatment at New Advent’s daily Catholic news summary. (Full disclosure: NA has been supportive of this blog, thank you.) But today’s headline was—what?—over the top? “Actor Blames Catholic Church for lack of Golden Compass sequels.” Poor Sam Elliot! Could it be Sam’s out of work and has reached for the nearest, oldest scapegoat on earth? Sam, wake up! You didn’t even have that big a role! And Sam,... Read more

Posted by Webster  When in September I wrote a post about Ferde, my big brother in the Church, one man commented: “Providential to find such a friend. I sometimes think it’s more difficult for guys who convert to find a ‘guy’ type Catholic friend.” I thought of this tonight when Ferde and I went to a monthly men’s meeting at the local Carmelite chapel. That’s the chapel in the photo. (There’s more seating outside the frame to left and right.)... Read more

Posted by Webster Sometimes you read about a saint for the first time and you think, I want to know everything I can about him. Or her. That’s how I feel about Blessed Mary Frances Shervier, whom we remember December 15. OK, she is not a fully accredited “saint” yet, but so what? Her canonization is “pending.” Meanwhile, let me tell you what I have learned about Blessed Mary Frances Schervier. . . . Born in Aachen, Germany in 1819... Read more

Posted by Webster I know what was going on in my life in September and October 1978. I won’t bore you with the details. Something big was happening—in my life, and, as it happens, in the life of the Catholic Church. On September 28, 1978, Pope John Paul I was found sitting up in bed, dead, 33 days into his papacy. According to the media reports, he had an open copy of The Imitation of Christ on his chest. I thought... Read more