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
Great Pro-Life, Catholic Fiction
Mary Meets Dolly blogger Rebecca Taylor kindly wrote up a review of Brian J. Gail’s pro-life trilogy for me to publish over at Catholic Lane: Fiction is as instructive as non-fiction, maybe even more so. The best fiction catches us up in a world outside our own all the while teaching us truths about ourselves and humanity. The pleasure of … Read More
TOB Tuesday: Finding Joy
Yes, you guessed it. Here is your Theology of the Body Advent reflection for week three. This time from Fr. Martin Connor, LC: In 2000, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, made the following comment: “The deepest poverty is the inability of joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory… the inability of joy presupposes … Read More
Protecress of the Unborn
Happy feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Protectress of the Unborn and Mother of the Americas! Our Lady of Guadalupe, we turn to you who are the protectress of unborn children and ask that you intercede for us, so that we may more firmly resolve to join you in protecting all human life. Let our prayers be united to your … Read More
Charges Dropped Against Man Accused of Helping Father Commit Suicide
Last year a Connecticut trial judge rejected a lawsuit by “right to die” advocates seeking to overturn the Connecticut ban on assisted suicide. While their lawsuit technically wasn’t successful, it seems their public campaign to normalize suicide for the sick may have still had an impact. This week prosecutors in Connecticut dropped all charges against a Massachusetts man who was … Read More
A Shocking Dose of Sanity From the HHS
Plan B (also known as the morning-after pill) was approved by the FDA at the end of the Clinton administration in 1999. Since 2009, it has been available behind the pharmacy counter without prescription for women 17 years of age and older. This week, the FDA considered a request from Plan B manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals to allow women of any … Read More
Stephen Colbert on Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Today Marc Barns posted his favorite Colbert Catholic moments. This made me think of one of my personal favorite Colbert moments: his 2006 interview with bioethicist Lee Silver. Silver says plenty of stupid things during the whole interview, but the stupidest is when he tells Colbert that the cells on his arm are human life in the same way that … Read More
TOB Tues: And With Your Spirit
Here’s another great Theology of the Body Advent reflection, this time from Damon Owens: In the United States, we mark both the second week of Advent and our second week with a new English translation of the Roman Missal. Every day while traveling this week, I have found myself at a different parish fumbling with both the pages and the … Read More
How Newt Gingrich Blundered
Below is a “guest post” from my good friend Jim Cole, Legal Counsel for Missouri Right to Life, about the imbroglio that Newt Gingrich caused with his comments about implantation last week. The Gingrich campaign has been on damage-control with pro-lifers for days now attempting to “clarify” Newts pro-life position, assuring us that he believes that life begins at conception. … Read More
Poem: I Saw a Baby
Catholic Lane has a wonderful poetry section. Today they published this thoughtful poem from Pavel Chichikov: I saw a baby at the stream, Perhaps or maybe not a dream, Who played with water, thrust his hand Into the pool, the golden sand And then scooped up a golden fish, This is my life, he said, to bless Or throw again … Read More