I grew up with a dad who prays the Liturgy of the Hours, and as a result, the Church’s daily pockets of prayer have always held a special attraction for me. Perhaps when I am an older woman, I will live the kind of life conducive to praying the Divine Office, but for now, my … Read more
If you ask me, we’re way overdue for a Wendell Berry reading around here. In Berry’s essay The Use of Energy, he reflects on the agrarian ethos, the connection between religion and energy, and the role of living things, tools, and machines. He concludes that the energy crisis is not one of technology, but of … Read more
So, if what the weather forecasters are saying is true, I will apparently be buried up to my neck in snow by the time you read this. Better get moving, then: Pope Benedict speaks out on England’s proposed “Equality Bill,” saying that it would in fact limit religious freedom and that it “violates the natural law.” … Read more
There is much talk of the possible canonization of one of Catholicism’s favorite “secular saints,” G. K. Chesterton. Inevitably, people point to one thing that doesn’t sit well in the American consciousness: Chesterton was fat. I hear little buzzings about it all over, and the subject of gluttony vs. abstemiousness comes up repeatedly as … Read more
This is simply brilliant. First off, for you international travelers and residents, how many times have run across the stubborn (fill in the blank) official in some developing country when you’re trying to get through customs, fill out an application for a local phone, or simply get the right part for your car? After the … Read more
Things got a little heated around here last week on Zoe’s post about marriage and annulments. In response to the news that Pope Benedict was asking marriage tribunals to tighten up the annulment process, Zoe suggested that we should be taking marriage prep more seriously at the same time — with an eye toward obviating the … Read more
That bastion of conservatism, the New York Times, reports that “monogamy is not a central feature for many” gay and lesbian couples. In fact, fully 50% of gay couples are involved in polyandry, according to the soon-to-be-released Gay Couples Study by San Francisco State University. (In contrast, between 1.7 and 6% of heterosexual married couples are … Read more
In his audience last Wednesday, Pope Benedict spoke about the model St. Francis provides for dialogue with other religions, particularly Islam. Francis met in 1210 with the leading Muslim leader, Sultan Malik al-Kamil, in Egypt: “I want to underline this episode in the life of St. Francis because of its great relevance. At a time … Read more
It’s a heated debate: Should Congress go along with the request — recently made by President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that was adopted by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1993? Should … Read more
I’m in the midst of my annual “swing” through Florida visiting various supporters of InsideCatholic.com. Here I am hitting a 4-iron to the 200 yard 9th hole on the Hills Course at Jonathan’s Landing on Jupiter Island. The ball ended up in the trap on the front right of the green. I didn’t get up … Read more
I’ve always been a huge fan of Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes comics. There was something about the series’ tone — sarcastic, yet strangely innocent — that always attracted me to the little boy and his stuffed tiger. And now that I’ve got an entire household of my own “Calvins,” I can see that the man … Read more
How had I never heard the story of the Four Chaplains before? On February 3, 1943, a German submarine torpedoed the USAT Dorchester, which was serving as a transfer ship for Allied troops, off the coast of Newfoundland. Four chaplains on board — a Methodist, a Jewish rabbi, a Catholic priest, and a Reformed Church minister — … Read more
Over the course of many months thinking about the deadly sins and opposing virtues, I’ve ranged pretty widely. In dealing with Greed and Generosity, I have drawn (so far as I know) the only direct connections yet between Chinese Communism, elves, ostrich farms, and the mortgage crisis. But that’s what being Catholic (from katholikos, or … Read more
Michael Pollan’s new book, Food Rules, is number one on Amazon and was called “the best nutrition book in 40 years,” by New York Times personal health columnist, Jane E. Brody: “I suspect that this little book can do more than the most authoritative text to get you motivated to make some important, lasting, health-promoting and … Read more
Behold, the latest pitch to attract more men to church: In the back room of a theater on Beale Street, John Renken, 42, a pastor, recently led a group of young men in prayer. “Father, we thank you for tonight,” he said. “We pray that we will be a representation of you.” An hour later, a … Read more
Son #5, the youngest of the lot, had developed quite a little musical ear. Fairly regularly nowadays, he will request (mostly wordlessly) that I go to my laptop, head on over to Naxos Music Library, and put on some suitably peppy music. Toddler head-banging to classical music invariably ensues. Bugler’s Holiday, from Leroy Anderson, is a … Read more
Sally Jenkins, a Washington Post sports columnist who is openly pro-choice, is on a tear in her column today, explaining why she thinks the world needs more Tim Tebows — and fewer demands from groups like NOW who are offended by the very idea of his upcoming Super Bowl ad. On NOW’s protest: Tebow’s 30-second ad hasn’t … Read more
A new study of an abstinence-only sex-ed curriculum showed it to be more successful at delaying teen sex than a comparable “safe sex” program — and even one that combined abstinence and safe-sex messages: Only about a third of sixth- and seventh-graders who completed an abstinence-focused program started having sex within the next two years, researchers … Read more
Remember those white phosphorus shells that the Israeli government swore up and down were never used on the United Nations compound in Gaza last January? Well, they were wrong. Paul Wood of BBC News in Jerusalem reports: Buried in paragraph 108 of the Israeli report to the UN is the key fact of the document. Two … Read more
Barney Frank, former chief booster of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now conveniently says they should be disbanded. “I believe the remedy is abolishing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their present form and coming up with a whole new system of housing finance,” Frank said. Furthermore, he told Big Think that the poor … Read more