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 […]
Hanukkah: It’s a Catholic Thing!?
November 28, 2013 by
A few words up front: This is in no way an attempt to hijack a religious holiday from our spiritual elder brothers and sisters; far from it. But the simple fact is: It’s in the Bible. More to the point, it’s in the part of the Bible that Catholics accept as canonical (i.e.: infallibly part […]
When Is It Okay To “Draw The Line”?
November 20, 2013 by
This post began with a friend of mine who has recently cut ties with somebody who has caused her pain for her entire life. Her “VERY Christian mother” has called her “cold-hearted” and “evil” for this. She also revealed that her mother continuously helps people who have repeatedly hurt their family, knowing that this will be the result. She is “absolutely miserable” doing […]
“Hallowed Be Thy Name”: Reverence and Respect for God’s Name
October 19, 2013 by
I’ll establish some light-hearted context by noting a few of my pet peeves with grammar and punctuation. 1) I can’t stand when people mix “your” and “you’re” up. 2) If you want to make something plural, even if it’s an acronym, you DON’T put an apostrophe, i.e., you wouldn’t write “We should go get a few beer’s tonight.” […]
Old Testament Proscriptions, The Levitical Law, and the New Covenant
July 17, 2013 by
I was reading a piece over at the Friendly Atheist, written by the daughter of prominent Christian evangelist Matt Slick, founder of CARM.org, a christian (but not Catholic, and at times Anti-Catholic apologetic website – I could write a whole web-site dedicated to refuting that stuff, but others already have.). The author of the piece, […]
The Writing on the Ground
March 19, 2013 by
This Sunday’s gospel presents us with the story of the woman caught in adultery (not, of course, the man). The scribes and pharisees come to Jesus to test whether he’ll be obedient to the law of Moses, which prescribed death for such a one, or to Roman laws, which outlawed capital punishment by anyone but […]
Q: Does God Want Only A Contrite Heart?
March 8, 2013 by
A reader asks: I . . . came across the daily readings. They seem to contradict themselves. . . . Hosea 6:1-6: The last couple versus are, “what am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? For your love is like morning mist, like the dew the quickly […]
Guns and Religion: Catholics, Fire Arms, the Right to Defend Oneself, and the Second Amendment
January 15, 2013 by
Over at USCatholic.org, there’s a piece boasting the church’s dedication to completely getting rid of guns from the hands of civilians. The Catholic Church’s position on gun control is not easy to find. . . . The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated. But […]
Fruits, Vegetables, and the Fall of Man…and Bacon.
December 17, 2012 by
A good friend posted a link to an answer to the ultimate question: What makes a fruit, and what makes a veggie? The answer from Wisegeek was: Simply put, a fruit is the ovary of a plant, which means that it may contain seeds, while a vegetable is a plant part, which does not contain […]
Young Earth Creationism vs. Old Earth Evolution: The Catholic Position.
November 14, 2012 by
God is Love. He perfect, omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnibenevolent (all good). Being Love in his very essence, he gives freely of himself to another, for the sake of the other, expecting nothing in return. God created us precisely because He is Love, and desired to share himself with us freely, expecting nothing in return. In those […]