Thank God for Eternal Life!

ChelseaDeath, Eternal Life, Faith, Hope, Prayer, Religion2 Comments

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

All My Hope Rests in Your Great Mercy

ChelseaReligion, Suffering1 Comment

It doesn’t get much more beautiful than this. From St. Augustine, whose feast is today: Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you! Lo, you were within, but I outside, seeking there for you, and upon the shapely things you have made I rushed headlong — I, misshapen. You were with me, … Read More

The Dark Night of the Easter Triduum

ChelseaFaith, Religion, SufferingLeave a Comment

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

TOB Tues: The Annunciation and the Theology of the Body

ChelseaReligion, Theology of the Body, TOB TuesdayLeave a Comment

This is certainly not the first thing that comes to our mind when we think of the annunciation, but when Mary accepts the message of Gabriel, her fiat is a yes to God’s plan for her sexuality: “Mary shows us how to accept the gift of our embodiedness, and this includes the God-given sex of the body. In this it … Read More

Mary, Mother of God

ChelseaReligionLeave a Comment

Happy New Year and, more importantly, a blessed solemnity of Mary the Mother of God! Andrea Solario, Madonna With the Green Cushion [W]hy does the Roman liturgy celebrate the Octave of Christmas as the Feast of Mary the Mother of God? Because this paradoxical phrase strikes at the very heart of Christmas. The songs we sing and the cards we … Read More

Audio: On Our Culture’s Love/Hate Relationship With Babies

ChelseaAbortion, Disabled, Infertility, IVF, Population Control Myth, Religion, Reproductive TechnologyLeave a Comment

Does our culture have a love/hate relationship with babies? Is Captain James T. Kirk captive to the culture of death? And what does Pope Francis mean by an “ecumenism of blood?” I had a good time talking about all of the above on the Mike Allen Show yesterday with the ever-awesome Jason Hall, who is the associate director of the … Read More

Weekend Life Links

ChelseaAdult Stem Cell Research, IVF, Religion, Reproductive Technology, ScienceLeave a Comment

A few quick takes for your weekend: 1. The Church Is Not Backward, But Forward — my good friend Rebecca on the far-reaching wisdom of the Church. This article will also give you an idea of what’s coming up in our next episode of BioTalk! I’ll be editing that this weekend. 2. The Church and Science: The Right Place at … Read More

He is Risen! Run to Jesus!

ChelseaReligionLeave a Comment

The Sepulchre by Dan Burr I really love this painting I came across over the weekend that goes perfectly with yesterday’s Gospel reading: On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to … Read More

Stay A While With Christ and Him Crucified

ChelseaReligion, SufferingLeave a Comment

Hey, where are you going? It’s not Easter, yet. “Stay a while. Do not hurry by the cross on your way to Easter joy, for we know the risen Lord only through Christ and him crucified.” (Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Death on a Friday Afternoon). image: The Lamentation, Peter Paul Rubens c. 1609 Jason Hall reminds us that, “It is … Read More

Francis Leaves Popemobile to Bless Disabled Man

ChelseaDisabled, Prayer, Religion9 Comments

Before his inaugural Mass this morning, Pope Francis descended the popemobile to bless a disabled man in St. Peter’s Square. He’s preaching the Gospel of Life without saying a word. I love this man. He also has to be giving his security team some mild heart attacks. I like what Elizabeth Scalia had to say this morning on Twitter in … Read More