In Mary is the Way and the Truth and the Life?
Many good Catholics are often hesitant to share with Protestants the Marian writings of heavily-Marian saints like St. Louis De Montfort and St. Maximilian Kolbe. I would number myself among such Catholics, at least at initial conversations with Baptists, Pentecostals and "non-dommers." Our Catholic giants of Marian theology write so much of "surrendering our life to Our Lady" that such vocabulary could be confusing to someone who has already surrendered his or her life to Jesus Christ (as well as Protestants and Catholics alike both should have.) Even the old Divine Office seems to ascribe too much to Mary, the Mother of God. In the set of Psalms called None (9th hour) on 11 Feb, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes (the Apparition of the Blessed Immaculate Virgin Mary) the reading after the Psalms from Ecclesiasticus implicitly ascribes the [...]
Shipwreck of this World
Lauds in the old Divine Office of today, the first Sunday in Passiontide, says we life in a "shipwreck of a world" (mundo náufrago) here on earth. This seems like a very negative world view to the modern Christian who is repeatedly taught that God wants him happy on earth. There is some truth to that (that God wants us happy on earth) but the old Irish-Catholic worldview was that our pilgrimage on earth was actually escape from a wretched "shipwreck" to just get to heaven. People nowadays liken this worldview to Jansenism. But I'm going to propose in this blog post that putting the emphasis on original sin in children's catechesis actually produced more joyful kids not only in heaven, but even here on earth. When modern Catholic parents tell kids "I'm okay and you're okay" and that they [...]
What if Catholics Avoided Pornovirus Like Coronavirus?
Every Catholic—lay and cleric—would spend months talking about nothing except how to end the pornography problem among Catholics and worldwide. The mortal sin of pornography would be avoided as vigilantly as plague-stricken hospitals, especially if access to priests were limited. Catholics would wear modest clothes to Mass at least as much as masks are currently worn to Wal-Mart. Priests and biological fathers who make concessions out of laziness to the danger-at-hand would be held morally culpable for endangering more than just their own parish or family. Bishops would shut down the indiscriminate approach to Holy Communion until every man was porn-free and every woman was birth-control free. Every diocese would put popularity, money and relevance at least temporarily on the back-burner until health was restored to souls. Every possible attempt—even seemingly inhuman attempts—would be executed by even lukewarm Catholics to [...]
Catholic Clinicians Speak On COVID-19
On tonight's podcast, I am joined by a nurse working in an ICU treating many coronavirus patients and a physician elsewhere who probably has coronavirus himself. We put into layman's terms COVID-19's common symptoms and treatments. Dr. Matt mentions the dashboard map of Johns Hopkins University.
Is It Ever Permitted to Lie to Your Children?
What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all.—Chernobyl, TV series. Most people today will lie if necessary. If you ask them why they lie, it seems that most people believe that all will be forgiven at the end of time, especially if they are lying "for a good reason." Now, most of these people remember their Ethics 101 that teaches, The end does not justify the means. "This is a nice philosophy," they say, "but when the rubber meets the road of my life, I sometimes have to lie to keep things afloat." The direct Word from God should sober-up such arguments: But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the [...]
A Catholic Rule-of-Life For COVID-19
Whether you think COVID is media hype or a real danger, you'll gain some real practical advice on how to slow down as a Catholic living for Christ in 2020 on this podcast. Please keep praying for Huma. “The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”—Oswald Chambers.
How Should I Spend My Sundays when Public Masses Are Canceled?
Part I: Why the Cancelation of Masses due to COVID-19 is probably a good thing. (If Church history does not interest you, feel free to skip to Part II: How Should I Spend My Sunday when Public Masses Are Canceled?) Many bishops in the world have canceled Sunday Masses for several consecutive weeks due to fear over coronavirus (COVID-19.) You might be surprised to read that I actually agree with their decision on this. First, epidemiologically, COVID has the potential to grow big and rapidly in its reach. Even if COVID stayed small in the amount of infections, many people over 50 years old would be placing themselves in harm’s way in any mass gathering (last pun you'll ever see on my blog.) The current mortality rate for those with COVID over 80 years old is 15%. That is a [...]
St. Mary of Egypt (Audio Version)
St. Mary of Egypt went from sex-addict to canonized saint in the fourth century. Tonight's podcast is the verbatim account of another 4th century saint describing her life in 40 minutes. His full written account of St. Mary of Egypt can be found on my blog, here. Thanks also to Fairuz' Good Friday Lebanese Catholic song “Kamat Mariyam” as the music bumpers found here.
Podcast: What Should A Priest Do in a Pandemic?
The ABCs of Salvation is: A) Ask for Faith. B) Baptize. C) Confess. This is what a priest needs to think of every time he goes outside, every time he faces an emergency, every time he thinks of COVID-19.
Islam Still Promotes Kidnapping Christian Children for Sex-Slavery
What Happened? A 14 year old Catholic girl in Pakistan named Huma Younus was kidnapped on 10 Oct 2019 by an adult Muslim named Abdul Jabbar of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab Province, who wanted her as a sex-slave for life. He has obtained her for just this sordid purpose. Her family's attorney, Tabassum Yousaf, said, "We have not heard anything from her. Her situation is heart-wrenching. The longer she remains in the hands of her kidnappers, the more she will suffer sexual and mental abuse.” Tabassum Yousaf was able to bring this case to court four months after the kidnapping, but he told Morning Star News: "The hearing on Feb 3 lasted only five minutes, The court, in just a few words citing the sharia, has justified the violation of the girl's body since she has already had her first period." In [...]