The End is Nigh! The situation must be getting dire; Slate and the Wall Street Journal are running pieces on the problem facing the world that seems to have come from out of left field: Underpopulation. Says Slate: A somewhat more arcane milestone, meanwhile, generated no media coverage at all: It took humankind 13 years to […]
The End of New Years Resolutions
January 1, 2013 by
The ball has dropped, and a new year has begun here in the states. 2013 brings with it the promise that all years bring: a chance to start over, to build a new habit, stop an old one, and slowly work on becoming a better person. This tradition is a good one over all (other […]
4 + 1 People You Probably Didn’t Know Were Catholic
December 21, 2012 by
So Marc Barnes over at Bad Catholic just put together a great little piece (as usual): “5 people it’s easy to forget are Catholic.” Hint 1: Hint 2: #5 is a lark!
The HHS Mandate Takes A Blow – And Why That’s Good!
December 19, 2012 by
Great News from the Beckett Fund folks! Today, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. handed Wheaton College and Belmont Abbey College a major victory in their challenges to the HHS mandate. Last summer, two lower courts had dismissed the Colleges’ cases as premature. Today, the appellate court reinstated those cases, and ordered the Obama Administration to […]
Fruits, Vegetables, and the Fall of Man…and Bacon.
December 17, 2012 by
A good friend posted a link to an answer to the ultimate question: What makes a fruit, and what makes a veggie? The answer from Wisegeek was: Simply put, a fruit is the ovary of a plant, which means that it may contain seeds, while a vegetable is a plant part, which does not contain […]
Levity in the Face of Adversity.
December 15, 2012 by
Today is the feast of John of the Cross. A mystic, his famous work is called “The Dark Night of the Soul,” and it speaks of that moment we all feel at times, when it feels as if we’re getting nowhere spiritually. If every time we prayed, we got happy feelings, we would begin to […]
Book Review: Finding God in the Hobbit
December 14, 2012 by
The book up for review this month is Jim Ware’s Finding God in the Hobbit. Kurt Bruner writes the introduction, and muses upon the sadness of a childhood that didn’t involve hobbits when it could have. I have to agree. As an only child of a single mother, such fantasy books did not populate my […]
Sacramental Marriage, Civil Marriage, Gay Marriage, and the Catholic Church
December 14, 2012 by
Mawwidge… I’m told it’s an institute you can’t disparage, though that seems anything but the case these days. A litany of arguments in favor of allowing for “gay marriage,” in the short-hand parlance, or “homosexual unions,” has been given by hosts of talking heads, celebrities, and every-day folks. It’s a “civil rights” issue, some will say. […]
So Long As They’re Dead…
December 11, 2012 by
Francis J. Beckwith describes the process of being invited, and then dis-invited, to write a piece in honor of a distinguished academic and evangelical friend for festschrift, which was being compiled by some folks in conjunction with the appropriately named Moody Publishers. Several days later, however, the editors informed me that the publisher had forced them […]
The Ultimate Advent / Christmas / Winter Song Collection
December 11, 2012 by
On Advent, Christmas (Holiday), Christmas (Secular), and Winter Music It’s no secret: I love Advent. I find something terribly saddening when people start playing Christmas music in October (or earlier), and then cease playing it on December 26th, thereby messing up the entire Advent season and Christmas season. Not because I dislike any of these songs, but […]