Those of us who fight for the right to life of every human being on this earth must also remember to be joyfully aware that this life, as beautiful as it may be, is not our ultimate end. Though we fight for truth and freedom in our beloved country, it remains but an earthly dwelling place, a temporary homeland where … Read More
The Dark Night of the Easter Triduum
image: The Lamentation, Peter Paul Rubens c. 1609 Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the … Read More
Jim Gaffigan: From “Loner” to Father of Five (and Counting?)
) This is a great piece from CBS on comedian Jim Gaffigan about his family life. At the end of the interview Anthony Mason asks Gaffigan if he’s “done” having kids. To which he responds that, because he’s Catholic and his wife is a “shiite” Catholic, “there is no goalie” and he’s, “not opposed to it.” “I know the positives … Read More
Faith is Proven in Suffering
Well said, Mother Elvira! Faith is not something magical: “I believe, so God has to give me the miracle I’m praying for,” or “I pray. Why hasn’t God given me what I asked for?” Let’s look as an example at Mary ’s faith, a solid, sure, strong faith. We can’t even imagine how much she suffered! I wonder what her … Read More
The Holy Family
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family – a model for all families. Pope Paul VI on Nazareth and family life: May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplifying its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful … Read More
Christian, Remember Your Dignity and the Dignity of all Human Life!
Happy second day of Christmas! While the rest of the world moves on from Christmas, for Catholics, the Christmas season has only just begun. I love this passage from a sermon by St. Leo the Great that is part of the Office of Readings every Christmas: “Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no … Read More
Our Lover is Coming!
In response to a post I wrote at Ignitum Today last month about contemplating death, a reader commented: [W]hy not look at death as a meeting with the One we have been waiting for all our lives, similar to a soldier who is on the battlefield and thinks of his beloved waiting back home for him. When the war (of … Read More
We Cannot Follow Christ Without Sharing in His Cross
Today is the 12th anniversary of my paralyzing car accident. It is also the feast of St. John of the Cross, the real Dark Knight. Coincidence? I think not. This writing from a spiritual Canticle of his sums up much of what I have learned over the course of the last twelve years: “[T]he apostle Paul said of Christ: In … Read More
Don’t Put off Sanctity
Earlier this year I agreed to write for a new Catholic blog that launched for young adults in August. It’s now November and I haven’t written a thing – until now…finally! It’s definitely not some of the best writing I’ve ever done. I have not been in the mood to write at all lately, which is why it took me … Read More
The Difference Faith Makes
Yesterday I wrote about an article in the UK Daily Mail written by a mother who chose to kill her unborn son who was diagnosed with spina bifida. Today I was just struck by the stark contrast between her negative and fear based vision of life with a handicapped child and a recently uncovered email written by former Governor Sarah … Read More