Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
“The devil always sends errors into the world in pairs—pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one.” C.S. Lewis The Philosophers … Read more
The internet, that great distorter of information, tells me that Cardinal Robert Sarah is “a member of the right wing of the Catholic Church.” An outsider might look at this and wonder if the Catholic Church is a hockey team with right and left wings. If it were, Cardinal Sarah would be the center, harboring … Read more
In the eighteen months I have been writing a near-weekly column for Catholic Culture, I have not been shy on the topic of Catholic-Jewish relations in the shadow of the Israel-Gaza War. You can read my previous work on the topic here, here, here, here, here, here and here. My emphasis has been that Catholics … Read more
These first four days of the holy season of Lent serve as a preface, indicating the preparation that we ought to make in order to spend Lent well and to dispose ourselves to fast well. That is why I have thought to speak to you, in this exhortation, of the conditions which render fasting good … Read more
For the leader. A psalm of David, 2when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.a I 3Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions. 4Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me. 5For I know … Read more
A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; 2serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song. 3*Know that the LORD is God, he made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the flock he shepherds.a 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise. Give thanks … Read more
There’s a famous skit from the Irish sitcom Father Ted where, after hearing that his priest was caught making comedic caricatures of Asians, a parishioner greets him over a dry stone wall. “I hear you’re a racist now, Father,” he yells. “Should we all be racists now? What’s the official line the Church’s taking on … Read more
The All Saints Day proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church was entirely welcome, if not without a certain irony. First, the good news. Newman was one of the most creative Christian minds of the 19th century, a truth seeker whose lifelong search for the face of Christ took him … Read more
Failing to mention the Jews on Holocaust Remembrance Day reflects a deep moral sickness. It’s not often we can say JD Vance and the BBC have something in common. The bruising VP of the United States and the lily-handed woke-mongers of Britain’s public broadcaster probably disagree on every big topic. But this week, briefly, they … Read more
A leading cardinal and former secretary of the Roman Curia has spoken to the Catholic Herald about the state of the Church, the role of the papacy, and how Catholics should approach authority. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, described the veneration of the private and … Read more
A new long‑term study from the United States has revealed that a significant number of women continue to experience deep regret years after having an abortion, prompting fresh reflection on how society supports women who face crisis pregnancies. Researchers tracked thousands of women over a period of years and found that around one in four … Read more
At the dawn of the 1950s, as atheistic communism was seeping into the West from the Soviet Union and as godless secularism and hedonism were on the rise in America, achieving the disastrous watershed known as the Sexual Revolution some years later, a Catholic bishop stood before a camera, a chalkboard over his shoulder, ready … Read more
I am a confirmed hater of New Year’s Eve parties and a skeptic of New Year’s festivities in general. There is nothing more dispiriting than the spectacle of people pretending to have a good time on New Year’s Eve, except possibly the less crowded tragedy of people pretending to be madly in love on Valentine’s … Read more
Anybody who spends much time on social media, especially that website formerly known as Twitter, has likely seen an uptick in antisemitism these last couple years. As a Catholic, it has been disappointing to see so much of it among Catholic youth. For many years, we lived in a world in which the social memory … Read more
A Hong Kong court this week convicted Jimmy Lai, the territory’s most prominent champion of democracy and basic human rights, of breaching national security. The sham trial and conviction confirm Hong Kong’s tragic descent into tyranny. Hong Kong was long one of the freest places on earth, and Jimmy Lai, age 78, both symbolizes and … Read more
When she was writing in opposition to the Illinois assisted-suicide law that was just signed into law, the president of Illinois Right to Life wrote about a least-favorite topic of humans: death — and when preceded by suffering. (Even when death is sudden, I’ve yet to meet a human who has experienced no suffering.) Mary … Read more
Each December, as holiday decorations go up and familiar music fills the air, another relatively new holiday ritual returns with equal predictability — social media fills with declarations that “Jesus was a Palestinian,” often joined by the equally fictional assertion that he was a “Palestinian refugee.” These claims appear every Christmas season as reliably as … Read more
Last month, Communist China launched its largest ever crackdown on Christians. The raids across Beijing, Shanghai and eight other cities mark the beginning of an escalation as the paranoid Xi regime sets out to suppress the growing number of Chinese Christians. While the Communist regime claims that the official number of Christians in China is … Read more
Many monasteries and communities of religious brothers and sisters depend on proceeds from the sales of their products to sustain their lives of prayer and service throughout the year. These days, most have online gift shops that will ship your purchases to arrive before Christmas. Here’s a guide to some of our favorite handmade gifts … Read more
Earlier this week, Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC) crooned: “As we enter the Advent season, we remember that the Holy Family themselves were migrants seeking safety.” It is a recurring motif to validate the resistance of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to curtailment of illegal immigration. … Read more
The Catholic parish geographically closest to our home is huge, with more than 13,000 parishioners, according to the diocesan website. It has confession once a week for half an hour. Let’s say (very generously) that because of age or other reasons only 3,000 of those parishioners are able to participate in the sacrament of penance … Read more
Senator Ted Cruz is trying to wake people up to what he sees as a growing crisis on the right. He has taken to saying that if he were to post “Good morning” on the social media platform X, within minutes he would be deluged by hundreds of blatantly antisemitic replies. It’s not much of … Read more
… you rarely (if ever) hear the following phrases. “Party like it’s A.D. 1570!” “We should sing more plainchant at this parish.” “I’d like to thank the choir for their sublime rendition of the Mass For Five Voices by William Byrd.” “I just love the way the four torchbearers process in with such dignity.” “People … Read more
I Left Catholicism Because of Church Scandals… Also see “Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis,” by Bishop Robert Barron (161-page PDF) Related PostsSt. Augustine – How to Find Yourself A Magnificent Description of the Immigrant Church of 1900-1950 Fear What Is the Difference Between a Lay … Read more
It wasn’t 1985 anymore, and he wasn’t in Bedford Falls. It was 2016: Barack Obama sat in the White House as the most pro-abortion president in history, and same-sex marriage had become legal in every state. In just three years as pontiff, Pope Francis had unsettled the hearts of millions of faithful Catholics with a … Read more