It’s that time of year again, and thank God for it, sez I! Thank God for 26 days in which to turn away from all of the “new” and “improved” must-haves-of-the-season in order to ponder some ancient things that cannot be improved upon; psalms and prophecies – a promise of a new way, and fresh beginnings, brought to us by the One who Is, Was and Ever Shall Be; who existed before all and will Read more…
Well, it is cold and windy this election day here in New York, and my husband and I stood in line for over two hours to cast our votes. This is pretty much unheard of in our little Long Island town, where voting usually takes five minutes, tops. And there were all kinds of people voting, lots of older folks who were smart enough to bring chairs and turned their political hats backwards so as Read more…
Isn’t that a beautiful young couple up there, circa 1957? They’re still a beautiful couple 62 years later, but the joy of that day — one that was reflected for all these decades through all of the ups and downs that go with a marriage, and a live fully lived — has become a bit strained. Through years of financial struggle and toil, and holding several jobs while trying to make ends meet in a Read more…
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away this evening after a long and courageous battle with cancer, wrote a wonderful piece for Medium about her love of music, especially the opera: I owe my introduction to opera to a man ahead of the times, a conductor named Dean Dixon. A child prodigy, he read notes at age three, well before he could read words. At age nine, he made his radio debut as Read more…
Lots of people don’t realize that though she was beloved since her own time and popularly declared a saint, it wasn’t until 2012, when Pope Benedict XVI prepared to name her a Doctor of the Church (only the fourth female so recognized) that Hildegard was formally proclaimed a saint. Announcing his intention to raise Hildegard to the Doctorate in October of that year, Benedict noted in May, “Hildegard was a Benedictine nun during the height Read more…
Over at the University of Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal my old Patheos colleague Sam Rocha is featured interviewing EWTN’s Gloria Purvis. It’s a long, deep and sometimes painful read, and I highly recommend it. Gloria, for any who do not know, is the host of EWTN’s “Morning Glory” radio program, and her parents named her well! She is an African American Catholic woman of bold faith who gives ready witness whenever and wherever. In Read more…
The Archdiocese of New Orleans gives us gives us this lovely portrait of Venerable Pierre Toussaint, whose cause for sainthood has been languishing for too long.I recall telling my son, when he was in the third grade, that Toussaint might “soon be a saint.” My son is 35 years old now, and we are still waiting for further investigation into this great layman and philanthropist — whose heart seemed to understand a great deal more Read more…
I was pondering, today, the idea that once retail stores open, people will be less willing — perhaps unwilling at all — to try on clothes that others have tried on. Everything is going to change. Over at Word on Fire, I’ve written a short piece on how things might change for the Church as well, at least until a reliable vaccine has been produced to battle back and control Covid-19. Some people believe that Read more…
“These days, politics seems to dictate that if one party says, “The sky is blue,” the other party is obligated to reply, “No, it’s not, and you’re a terrible human being for thinking that.” That leaves no room for science, in which the data speak for themselves, regardless of ideology, and only when they’re ready. Unfortunately, the visceral excitement of political conflict draws far more clicks and better ratings than the methodical world of science.” Read more…
The Way of the Cross is an ancient devotion of the Church which has been used for centuries to bring the believer into deeper union with the Passion of Jesus Christ, using words, prayer, imagery and visual aids to effectively join Jesus on his walk to Calvary. This is written in the hope that, in these these meditations, people undergoing evaluation and treatment for physical or emotional illness may find companionship, understanding and even, with Read more…