Why I Am Catholic
Back in the Fall, I shared thoughts of the Dalai Lama on the efficacy of religion, and those of G.K Chesterton as a counterpoint. As a result, I had someone charge me with being arrogant for the attempt. (more…)
Back in the Fall, I shared thoughts of the Dalai Lama on the efficacy of religion, and those of G.K Chesterton as a counterpoint. As a result, I had someone charge me with being arrogant for the attempt. (more…)
I don’t know if you listen to NPR but they’ve been doing a little series this week called “Losing Our Religion.” It is about the group of folks who when asked what their religion is, they state “none.” Noting that many people turn towards religion when they encounter difficulties and tragedies, this series has been about people who have often times done the exact opposite.
They’ve left their religions, but not necessarily their belief in God (though some have), for various reasons. (more…)
Remember my affection for the Harvard Classics, the Five Foot Shelf of Books? Admittedly, I haven’t looked them over much since I became a Catholic. Not because I’ve outgrown them, but because there have been far too many other books to occupy my time since the spring of 2008. Mostly stuff from authors whose names begin with “S”, as St. Philip Neri suggested when he counseled that reading the works of the saints is profitable.
But I dipped a toe back into the HCFFSB water today and found these thoughts of Sir Francis Bacon. (more…)
Beware the conventional wisdom. I mean, everyone knows that the Catholic Church is dead in Europe, right? And in Canada, our neighbors to the north? Aren’t they arresting parishioners and marching them off to gulags and such up there?
Well, in a word, no. (more…)
About a week ago, I reported that the world thought the Vatican got all starry-eyed about the latest James Bond film. Did you know that the Bond family were a line of recusant Catholics? Orbis non sufficit.
Perhaps that is part of the reason why L’Osservatore Romano loved the film.
Idea! How about a look at a nonfictional story of recusant Catholics? (more…)
I’ve been thinking about the attacks to our embassies all across the Islamic world. Like the rogue character Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, me thinking is a frightening prospect, I know. But I cannot help but do it, as I served in Cairo, Egypt and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia as a Marine Security Guard (MSG) at our embassies located in those two capital cities of predominantly Muslim countries.
I spent 15 months or so in both of these countries fairly soon after a barracks of Marines was blown up in Lebanon (1983), and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was blown to kingdom come (1984). (more…)
Search the Bible: Resources
There are several good on-line resources for this. I have found these resources to be helpful.
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition
USSCB Revised New American Bible
For help finding a particular verse: Biblos and Bible Gateway
What follows are a few paragraphs from Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s lecture that, according to the endnotes, was “delivered only to the Swedish Academy and not actually given as a lecture.” It was delivered in 1970, and is an homage to the trinity of truth, goodness, and beauty. The entire essay is simply entitled Nobel Lecture in Literature 1970.
Solzhenitsyn’s insights are valuable not only because of his stature as an artist, but because of the life that he lived. The following excerpt comes from the sixth of seven sections, and resonates with me especially these days. These thoughts should give us pause as we venture further into the political circus that rages around us nowadays. They are the harsh light of truth, trained upon the realities of our political systems, and how easily they lead us astray. (more…)
Wait a second, isn’t that what is on the label of a bottle of Jägermeister liquer? What does that remotely have to do with being Catholic, you say? Is this some sort of joke, like something from Cracked? Well, let me introduce you to another Catholic saint, and all around swell guy, named Hubert of Aquitane. This is a rendition of the vision he saw while deer hunting. And yes, its on the label of a bottle of Jägermeister too.
Confessor, thirty-first Bishop of Maastricht, first Bishop of Liège, and Apostle of the Ardennes, born about 656; died at Fura (the modern Tervueren), Brabant, 30 May, 727 or 728.
Yawn, right? Yep, just another run-of-the-mill perfect saint story. Where do they come up with these guys, central casting? What happened to all the regular guy saints, like St. Peter and the rest of the crew? (more…)
Acts of terror, senseless violence, wars, rumors of wars, budget crises, scary headlines, scandal, political vitriol, etc., etc., got you down? It’s good to remember that life goes on, and is worth living. It is good to remember that for “the world,”
These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them, (more…)
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