A Prayer for Sufferers of Mental Illness on the Feast of St. Dymphna

    During the summer when school is not in session I used to work in the garden center of a local retail store, which was a pleasant break from the rigors and stresses of the academic year.       One afternoon I cashed out a very friendly older woman, but when I wished her a "good evening" she shook … Continue reading A Prayer for Sufferers of Mental Illness on the Feast of St. Dymphna

The Crisis of Fatherhood and the Litany of St. Joseph

     How odd St. Joseph, the human father of Jesus, must look to so many of us today.  We live in an age that distrusts the traditional features of fatherhood, and even denigrates them as "toxic masculinity."  Small wonder that fatherhood itself is in steep decline.  According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, "19.7 million children in America—more than one … Continue reading The Crisis of Fatherhood and the Litany of St. Joseph

Steyn, Spong, Kempton, and The Passion Of The Christ 2021

Where were you on February 25th, 2004?  Well, we might not remember the exact date, but most of us (except the youngsters) will remember the event.  On this date seventeen years ago Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was released. That year Ash Wednesday fell on the 25th of February, and Gibson intentionally timed the release … Continue reading Steyn, Spong, Kempton, and The Passion Of The Christ 2021

A Smaller, Purer Church?

In reality, all Fr. Ratzinger was doing was looking at social trends, the "signs of the times" (see Matthew 16:3). He saw a society in which Christian belief was becoming less important with, as a consequence, progressively less social advantage to membership. As the advantage diminished and eventually disappeared, the less committed members would move out, and on to something else . . .