I spoke in my previous entry about Pope Francis’ enthusiasm for the Sacrament of Confession. According to Catholic Radio, he decided to pursue his vocation to the priesthood while attending Confession. The majority of Catholics rarely, if ever attend Confession, a sacrament about which I am very passionate. In a shared objection with non-Catholics, many disagree […]
Pope Francis: Year in Review
March 13, 2014 by
In a time when the Catholic Church is under seemingly constant attack from a secular world that denounces her as irrelevant and out of touch and that also seems to suffer from internal disconnect, I can think of few people more vital today than Pope Francis. Where credit is due We needed Popes John Paul […]
Marxism? No. Liberalism? No. Christianity? Yes!
December 20, 2013 by
Compare and contrast… Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh recently accused Pope Francis of teaching “pure Marxism”, but I don’t think he understands what Marxism really is. Karl Marx, namesake of the ideology in question, denounced religious faith as “…the opium of the people”. He argued that religion blinds people to their true sufferings… “The abolition of religion as […]
Staring Into History: Finding the Beauty of Catholic Teachings in The Stars
September 6, 2013 by
In my fifth grade science class, we learned about “light pollution.” It didn’t make sense until seven years later when I left for college. I visited home one weekend and went to a friend’s house and finally understood the “light pollution” that my science teacher had talked about years earlier. I’d become so used to […]
The Faces of Hope: Patrick’s Favorite Images of the Popes
March 22, 2013 by
Since the election of Pope Francis, Justin has posted several photos of him on Oramus and begged the question of how we cannot automatically love our new pontiff. I’ve recently found myself wondering the same thing. As I was gathering material for my last few entries, I found photos of the popes during whose reign […]
The End of the Schism? Constantinople Patriarch First to Attend Papal Inaugural Mass in 1000 years!
March 16, 2013 by
AsiaNews.it declares that Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople will attend the inaugural mass of Pope Francis. This is absolutely historic, as it hasn’t happened in nearly a millennium! Catholic/Orthodox relations have been steadily improving since Vatican II, and in recent years, Popes like John Paul II and Benedict XVI have placed a heavy emphasis on ecumenical dialogue with […]
The Workings of the Holy Spirit in the Conclave
March 16, 2013 by
As we joyfully receive Pope Francis, we must look into the mysterious ways in which the Holy Spirit guides our cardinals in the election process. Before this Conclave, the Associated Press wrote about the politics involved. As with any worldwide organization, there will be competing sets of ideas and determination of one side to see […]
The History Of Christianity In One Comic (and a bunch of text)
February 25, 2013 by
In the last 500 years in particular, however, what Christianity is has gotten…”muddy.” Cloudy. Hazy. It’s hard to tell what is what, because by modest estimates, there are between 3,000 and 30,000 different Christian denominations in the world today. Some teach that there are no sacraments, some that there are 7. Some teach that Jesus was God […]
Pope Benedict XVI is REALLY Setting the Bar High For Giving Up Something For Lent.
February 11, 2013 by
A Collection of Thoughts Pope Benedict has shocked the world by announcing that he’ll be abdicating his position as the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome and the head of the Catholic Church. Dear Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonisations, but also to communicate to you a decision […]