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 […]
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
When Is It Okay To “Draw The Line”?
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 […]
The Writing on the Ground
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 […]
The HHS Mandate Takes A Blow – And Why That’s Good!
Great News from the Beckett Fund folks! Today, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. handed Wheaton College and Belmont Abbey College a major victory in their challenges to the HHS mandate. Last summer, two lower courts had dismissed the Colleges’ cases as premature. Today, the appellate court reinstated those cases, and ordered the Obama Administration to […]
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 […]
Vegans for Food Equality
Here’s a great piece which underscores the very notion of the redefinition of things once commonly held (with a hat tip to Mark Shea). VEGANS FOR FOOD EQUALITY Inspired by the success of Catholics for Marriage Equality, a new group has formed: Vegans for Food Equality. Here is what they say: After generations of silence, […]