Gallons and gallons of ink (both real and electronic) have been spilled in the aftermath of last night’s Detroit-Cleveland baseball game, and the botched call that ruined Armando Galarraga’s shot at the 21st perfect game in baseball history. Emotions are running high, to say the least. Countless commentators — everyone from former players to former umpires to politicians — have … Read more
I know it’s not medically sound, but I find a nice summer tan appealing. We are the type of New Englanders who celebrate winter by staying as close to bed as possible from November to March, and when we emerge in the spring, we look like ICU patients freshly pried out of a full-body cast: … Read more
Steve Schroeder parks in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. As he climbs up the front steps, his pin-striped suit flows comfortably over him as though he were shaped to it. From polished shoes to teeth, his appearance is sharp, meticulous. So it’s jarring when the first person … Read more
I know it’s not medically sound, but I find a nice summer tan appealing. We are the type of New Englanders who celebrate winter by staying as close to bed as possible from November to March, and when we emerge in the spring, we look like ICU patients freshly pried out of a full-body cast: … Read more
Horrible news out of Turkey today: The president of the Turkish Catholic bishops’ conference has been murdered. Bishop Luigi Padovese of Anatolia was stabbed to death on Thursday, June 3. The crime occurred in the port city of Iskenderun, where the bishop was preparing to leave for Cyprus to join Pope Benedict XVI on his … Read more
Free market capitalism gets blamed for everything from the financial collapse to salmonella-contaminated meat to the BP oil spill, and this is primarily due to a misunderstanding of the term. The economic system we have in the United States is not free market capitalism, but corporatism. Free market capitalism allows two parties to exchange goods … Read more
Pope Benedict yesterday lamented the renewed violence in Gaza. At the end of his weekly audience, he said his “heart was heavy” for the victims of this latest round of unnecessary violence: With great trepidation I followed the tragic events that occurred near the Gaza Strip. I feel the need to express my heartfelt condolences … Read more
My plans for you are peace and not disaster. When you call to me, I will answer you. I will bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you. — Jeremiah 29:10-13 This year marks my fifth anniversary in the Victim Assistance Program of the Diocese of Arlington. I approached Pat … Read more
I’m in the midst of a retreat with Father Groeschel at the Trinity Retreat Center in Larchmont, New York. The rose garden in the back is spectacular, as is the entire setting of the water-front estate given to Fr. Groeschel to run as a retreat for priests by Cardinal Cooke in 1974. “And all I … Read more
I’m in the midst of a retreat with Father Groeschel at the Trinity Retreat Center in Larchmont, New York. The rose garden in the back is spectacular, as is the entire setting of the water-front estate given to Fr. Groeschel to run as a retreat for priests by Cardinal Cooke in 1974. “And all I … Read more
In the “laughing to keep from crying” category, today’s xkcd comic takes a tongue-in-cheek look at ways we might find for making the oil spill more exciting. Only it’s not as “tongue-in-cheek” as one might expect (or want): The Gulf is drowning in oil; a “titanic” solution is needed. Enter director James Cameron. As the government … Read more
Faithful Catholics have been so worn down by fighting fundamental heresies taught by bishops that we sometimes shun intrareligious dialogue — that is, talking to sincere but confused fellow Catholics with whom we don’t agree. And that’s a mistake, since many issues really are complex, and we might in fact be confused ourselves. Let’s take … Read more
Although we’re back to ordinary time in the liturgical calendar, there’s never a time — liturgically speaking — when it the life of the faithful is dull, much less ordinary. As if to remind us of this, ordinary time is frequently punctuated by celebrations, something that breaks up the daily routine. This week, to mark … Read more
Science reports that a new study on mice shows that acupuncture activates pain-suppressing receptors. This is no surprise to the millions of people around the world who use acupuncture, but it’s always interesting when science discovers how things actually work. Researchers have developed two hypotheses for how acupuncture relieves pain. One holds that the needle … Read more
This sort of thing is usually Brian’s department, but I stumbled across this Youtube video, part of a long series from businessman and pop-economist Chris Martenson, and just had to share. First because it gives a little taste of how macroeconomics is darn near alchemy in its almost fanciful complexity. And secondly because of its … Read more
Nancy Pelosi, delivering an address on May 6 to the Catholic Community Conference, attempting to explain the intersection of her faith and politics: The cognitive dissonance here is overwhelming: To speak so fervently about the Word made Flesh, and yet to remain completely immune to its implications when it comes to her position on abortion… … Read more
In the 1970s, I inhabited a world where the Second Vatican Council was seen as an unmitigated disaster. Nuns stopped wearing their old habits — or simply left their convents altogether. Priests left their ministry. There was trite music at Mass, and Benediction seemed to have been abolished. Doctrine wasn’t taught anymore, and catechesis for … Read more
You may have heard about the article published in the May issue of Neurosurgery by Ian Suk and Rafael Tamargo — both neuroanatomy experts at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, here in Baltimore. According to Scientific American, back in 1990, a physician named Frank Meshberger published a paper in the Journal of the … Read more
Robert Reilly’s monthly musical articles nearly always produce the same effect on me: a mad scramble through either NaxosMusicLibrary.com or YouTube to hunt down recordings of the music he’s talking about — so many worthy composers; so little time — and this month’s offering, “Merry May Music”, was no exception. The third paragraph, however, produced a particularly enjoyable and unforseen … Read more
Because my parents’ marriage failed early, I spent my childhood with my great-aunt Mamie Schlumbrecht and her husband, Albert, on a five-acre chicken farm outside Abita Springs, Louisiana. Abita, which is about 35 miles north of New Orleans in St. Tammany Parish, is now a chic town — the famous home of an excellent microbrewed … Read more