I often used to admire a stained glass window that looks down on the altar in the cathedral where I used to attend Mass with my family. The scene in the window is the Annunciation. It depicts the young Mary, kneeling on the floor and surrounded by angels, while God the father looks down on her … Continue reading “Let It Be Done To Me According To Thy Word” – The Annunciation and Us
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
St. Patrick, Julius Caesar, and Slavery to Sin
St. Patrick is, of course, the Patron Saint of Ireland, but he wasn’t originally Irish. He was Romano-British, probably born in what is now southern Scotland, or possibly Wales. His first introduction to the Emerald Isle was as a slave, after he had been kidnapped as a youth by Irish raiders . . .
St. Agnes of Bohemia – Bride of The King
One of the things that the lives of the saints show us is how important each one of us is to God, however insignificant we may seem in the eyes of the world: there are no insignificant saints. In fact, the lives of the saints often show us in various ways that "the wisdom of this world is folly with God." (1 Corinthians 3:19) One of today's saints, St. Agnes of Bohemia (also known as St. Agnes of Prague) provides a good example of just how foolish the "wisdom" of the world can be.
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
St. Valentine, Patron of Agape
Here is a saint who gave his life to bring men and women together in the loving bond of Christian marriage, and whose last thought as he faced his own death was directed toward comforting another. What better image to offer in response to the self-indulgent, dehumanizing sexuality that is so prevalent today?
The Presentation, The Nativity, and The Passion of Our Lord
Today is the mid-point, the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end. Which is to say, today is the Feast of the Presentation, a perfect microcosm of both/and. The official Christmas Season ended a couple weeks ago on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, but the Presentation of the baby Jesus in … Continue reading The Presentation, The Nativity, and The Passion of Our Lord
The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall: The Conversion of Saint Paul
“The bigger they come, the harder they fall.” How many times have we seen that the more formidable the opponent, the more dramatic the impact when he comes crashing down?