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Suicide and Love’s Suffering: “Put religion on it” cannot be our only response

?Within days of each other, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain took their own lives, and the world responded as the world always does, by trying to find the simplest answer as to why people commit suicide and then finding the fastest and most practical way to address it so they can stop thinking about it. The number one guess for most people is “Depression”. And more times than not, this is true. Sure, there are Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Why bother with Catholic Mass? Bishop Robert Barron explains.

Your kids have said it. Your teenagers have almost definitely said it. Perhaps your spouse has even said it. Maybe you’ve even said it, once in a while, particularly if the liturgy seems plodding, or the priest seems distracted, or the music is…as bad as it can sometimes be: “Ugh, The Mass. Really? Why bother? What is the point of this?” That question inevitably leads to other questions: “Can’t I just worship God anywhere?” “Why Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus my old podcast!

It’s one of my favorite litanies. If you’d like, let’s pray it together with an old podcast of mine: Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy Christ, hear us Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us [after each invocation, respond with “have mercy on us.”] God, the Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One God, Heart of Jesus, Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

‘The Loved One’: We could stand to read this wicked-smart satire once more

Image: Alex Williams-cc My friend Russell Shaw has been sharing his thoughts on Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One, and I so like what he has to say I’m passing it along to you, too, because it seems to me that right now — as the social media to which most of the world is addicted has us consuming each other like meal scraps and losing sight of the humanity of the “other” in pursuit of…well…in Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Gay Wedding Cakes: SCOTUS goes 7-2 in favor of 1st Amendment with narrow instruction

The Supreme Court has handed down a 7-2 decision on the question of bakers and cakes and gay weddings, and Colorado’s clear hostility toward religion as protected by the 1st Amendment seems to have impacted that ruling: The justices, in a 7-2 decision, faulted the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s handling of the claims brought against Jack Phillips, saying it had showed a hostility to religion. In doing so, the commission violated his religious rights under Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Vatican warns nuns: Use Social Media ‘With sobriety and discretion’

Image: Asolrac1-cc “The Vatican has released an instruction with new norms for contemplative orders of nuns. Nuns must use Facebook, Twitter and other social media with “sobriety and discretion” according to a new document released by the Vatican.” So reports the UK Tablet Three of the four female Doctors of the Church were monastic women: Theresa of Avila, Hildegard of Bingen and Therese of Lisieux all lived and prayed in their cloisters, mostly apart from Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

The #MetGala: Not beyond the use of the Holy Spirit

My latest piece over at Word on Fire concerns this weeks Met Gala, which opened the Metropolitan Museum’s latest exhibit, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” an exhibit I hope to visit next week and wrote more about. The gala, though, certainly got a lot of attention. It always does, but with this years theme matching the exhibit, all eyes were on the attendees. Some took offense — I didnt; I saw it as Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

The Antidote to Envy or Feelings of Inadequacy? Whiskey and Whine

A young writer asks: I’m in need of a pep talk. I’ve fallen into the trap of comparing myself to other people and I need to shift my focus. How do you deal when you feel inadequate? You’re very smart to realize that you need to shift your focus. Comparing ourselves to others is a time-and-spirit whirlpool that sucks us down into a spiritual muck that becomes hard to escape and can really drag us Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Zuckerberg’s Folly: Facebook silencing hate will only serve a cheap illusion

So, there I was, watching as much as I could stand of the congressional questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and mostly feeling completely unimpressed by these leaders of legislation and industry — am I jaded? Am I a smartass? I don’t know. I just know that none of them made me think, “Wow, THAT is someone I need to learn more about because I’m impressed….” Anyway, I was simultaneously monitoring reactions on social media, Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

“The Breakfast Club” and Molly Ringwald and 2 Millennials in a Deli

Overheard at the Deli: Millennial #1: “I don’t get ragging on Breakfast Club like it’s all harassment and stuff. What does she want, movies w/no stories b/c they eliminate human nature?” Millennial #2: “Yes. Eliminating human nature is the whole point.” Millennial #1: (Emphatic agreement) “RIGHT?” Millennial #2: “So it’s all superheroes now. Deli counter guy, to me: “I’m never havin’ kids…” I took my leave, thinking, “Well then, I guess “mission accomplished?” I need to Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago