The Three Levels of Ignorance of the Pro-Abortion Position
Most people who support abortion are confused. I know, because I used to be moderately pro-abortion, and I know the comfortable muddle of unexamined premises that supports their position....
View ArticleStruggling with Church Doctrine? Go to Confession!
It has often been argued that the problem of so-called “cafeteria” Catholics is poor catechesis. This may be so. But not in the way most people mean it. Most people mean that if these people had...
View ArticleAn Awkward Moment at Mass
This was awkward. I was standing in the lobby area (the narthex, I think it is called technically, although most people refer to it as the vestibule) during mass, holding my cute but very active and...
View ArticlePreach the Gospel Always – and use Words!
Legend has it that St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words.” I have heard this phrase often repeated by lay Catholics and Priests alike, with the...
View ArticleJesus, the Canaanite Woman, and Us: A few reflections on Matthew 15:21-28
I have always found something disturbing about Matthew 15:21-28. This passage tells the story of the Canaanite woman that begs the Lord to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. “And Jesus...
View ArticleSteve Jobs in Hell?
With the launch of the new iPhone 5 just weeks before the first anniversary of Steve Jobs death, an odd thought occurred to me the other day. Where is Steve Jobs now? In Heaven, enjoying the beatific...
View ArticleWhy Didn’t God Intervene in the Election?
A great many people, disappointed and distressed about the re-election of Barack Obama, have wondered how God could allow the most pro-abortion president in history to be re-elected, particularly when...
View ArticleNewtown and Our Terrifying Free Will
The horrifying murder of twenty children at Newtown should confirm one thing for us, at least: we are not simply products of our “selfish genes”. Selfish genes don’t go on rampages, murdering little...
View ArticleIrrational Atheism
What if atheism was irrational? What if, based on all the evidence available, it just didn’t make good, logical sense? Since atheists tend to harbor a certain intellectual conceit, we might imagine...
View ArticleDebunking the “Jesus Myth” Myth
There is a niche group of religion debunkers that have gained popularity in recent years by promulgating the theory that Jesus Christ was a myth. Not that his resurrection from the dead was a myth,...
View ArticleJ.R.R. Tolkien and the Catholic Imagination
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a genius. The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece of Catholic literature, and in fact was a big factor in my conversion to Catholicism. The books are rich in the...
View ArticleGosnell and Facing Reality
Devoutly religious folks, especially Christians, who are pro-life are often derided by pro-abortion antagonists as being out of touch with reality and living in a world of fantasy and wishful-thinking....
View ArticleInvincible Ignorance is for God to Judge
So apparently Pope Francis said that even atheists are redeemed by the blood of Christ. Headlines in the secular press announced “Pope Francis says even Atheists can go to Heaven!” Amazing. Every...
View ArticleSpiritual but not Religious? So were the Jews that Worshipped the Golden Calf
“I’m spiritual, but not religious.” How many times have you heard that pithy, ignorant phrase? What is it supposed to mean? The person who claims to be spiritual but not religious (SbNR) probably just...
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