Recent Posts…

March 25: The Solemnity of the Annunciation, The Date on Which Jesus (May Have) Died, and… and Tolkien Reading Day?

And somehow, J.R.R. Tolkien—who deliberately scheduled the destruction of the One Ring on this exact date—understood this profound connection better than most modern believers.Today, we’re connecting these threads across faith, history, and fantasy to reveal why March 25th might be the most profound date you’ve never thought twice about. For the early Church, determining the […]

How St. Patrick’s Mission Preserved Western Civilization – And What It Can Teach Us Today

The collapse of the Roman Empire. Germanic tribes sweeping across Europe. The loss of ancient knowledge. In the midst of it all, one former slave would change the course of history by converting Ireland to Christianity, ensuring the survival of Western civilization. This isn’t a fictional tale—this is the incredible true story of St. Patrick. […]

The Monk Who Defied a Dying World: How St. Benedict Saved the West

Full Name Benedict of Nursia Born c. 480 AD, Nursia (modern Norcia, Italy) Died c. 547 AD, Monte Cassino, Italy Feast Day July 11 (Catholic Church) Patron Saint Of Monks, Europe, students, farmers, against poison, among others Major Contribution Founded Benedictine monasticism; wrote the Rule of St. Benedict Place of Death Monte Cassino (monastery he […]

Sola Scriptura is a DISQUALIFYING Belief for Authentic Christianity.

I frequent a number of “Anti-Catholic” message boards, and have since I was a neophyte believer. I do it because it’s always good to stay ready and sharpened in your ability to give a defense of the faith – but also because it *is* missionary territory. Sometimes a “doozy” of a claim will come up, […]

Why Do Catholics Have Statues?

Imagine a soldier during WWII. His name is Steve. He’s in a foxhole, and in 45 seconds he and his fellow soldiers will be charging out of their foxhole, through a hail of gunfire, to the next trench. Undoubtedly, some of them won’t make it. In the final seconds before the charge, Steve reaches into […]

Random Posts

Genderless Marriage and Arguments from Emotion

Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good analogy, but this piece by Doug Mainwaring really did a great job, in my opinion, of summing up the totality of the public discourse over the possibility of same-sex marriage.  He begins: In our sometimes misguided efforts to expand our freedom, selfish adults have systematically dismantled that […]

Book Review: Baptized In The Spirit

I recently posted about an unpleasant experience I’d had at a retreat hosted by a charismatic community.  It was unpleasant because they took a very condescending, holier-than-thou type of attitude towards people like me who are accustomed to (and prefer) silent, more contemplative worship.  They believed (or at least seemed to) that not praying “in the Spirit” wasn’t praying […]

Contraception: An Equal or Greater Evil than Abortion?

  Many people argue that abortion is the greatest evil in our society.  I take a slightly different view.  I believe that contraception is an equal, if not even greater, evil than abortion is.  I say this because of all that has been unleashed since the pill was introduced in 1961 and legalized in 1965, everything from […]

Faith in Practice

“Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” As a lifelong introvert, I love this quote by St. Francis of Assisi.  It spells out the overarching guideline for living our lives, which has far more to do with what we do then how we talk about it. This entry originated from a friend of […]

Peter, Petros, Petra: Is Peter The Rock Upon Which Jesus Built His Church?

Why Contraception Is Not Justified By “Unwanted Pregnancies”

As the Conclave was preparing to meet to elect our new pope, the news and Facebook were naturally full of all sorts of challenges and messages.  One stood out in particular to me:  A hope that the new pope would teach that contraception is acceptable in order to prevent “unwanted pregnancies”.  I’ll briefly re-cap an […]