3 Ways Out of Coronavirus
https://youtu.be/Lze-rMYLf2E In this 15-minute video (24 Apr 2020) Bill Maher interviews Dr. David Katz, a physician helping in an Emergency Department in the Bronx that is treating COVID-19 patients. Dr. Katz went to the Einstein college of medicine and got his degree from the Yale school of Public Health. He is also the founding director of Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and recently wrote in the New York Times about COVID-19. In the above video, both of these men mock Trump and Fox News, and yet they propose a moderate solution for our country to come out of lockdown now. I quote two liberals proposing an end to the lockdown not because [...]
Catholics Facing a Police-State
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJgRk1p8ktY In the above 10 minute Fox News segment from this week (April 2020) Tucker Carlson says: "People in power abuse their power. That may be the lesson here. The arrival of a terrifying new virus from China gave our leaders more power than anyone has had in the history of this country. Six weeks ago, America was something resembling an imperfect democracy...But suddenly everything has changed. Now, this is an oligarchy managed by bureaucrats and tech-moguls, none of whom are accountable to voters. Our leaders are making decisions that will affect your family forever with no oversight or accountability. And of course they love it. We shouldn't be surprised [...]
Christ Has Conquered Your Fear of Death
VOA news recently reported on the coronavirus: "The most contentious debate over Orthodox Easter occurred in Georgia [former USSR] where church leaders and the government agreed to allow parishioners to attend dusk-to-dawn Easter vigil services. The agreement meant worshippers were allowed to attend overnight services in large cathedrals despite a curfew, but they were required to maintain a distance of 2 meters. Those who attend small churches had to remain outside. Dozens went to the main cathedral in Tbilisi, where Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II said that the virus had caused fear among many people.” Despite a global fear of death over a virus, these Georgian worshippers stayed up all night worshipping the [...]
Resurrection and the Problem of Pain
I have thought a lot about "The Problem of Pain" this Lent. The Problem of Pain is the modern atheist's main objection to believing in God: How could an infinitely good God who is infinitely powerful allow so much evil on earth? Indeed, there have been many books written to defend the existence of God and the goodness of God. But the one line that kept returning to me this Lent was: "Why must we suffer? Because here below, pure love cannot exist without suffering."—St. Bernadette. This sounds like an oversimplification of an answer to the Problem of Pain, but it is the most perfect explanation I have ever read [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]