Author: S&P
60 years ago, this fool saved your life…
A fool saved your life 60 years ago. It’s easy to believe the worst about your enemies. After all, they are your enemy for a reason, aren’t they? Your enemy always tries to hurt you. They always mean you harm. Always. The world scoffs at the man who ever thinks the best of his enemy. It is a fool who views the ostensibly hostile acts of their enemy and responds, against all worldly wisdom, “But pe...
The mysterious dog who saved St. John Bosco…
Most Catholics are well aware of the crisis of youth in our day, but what to do about it is less clear. It is in despair-inducing times like ours that the examples and attitudes of the saints are indispensable, and the saint we all should look to for inspiration and guidance when it comes to the trials and tribulations of growing up in the twenty-first century is St. John Melchior Bosco. The moral...
Public Holiday Marking Feast of St. Brigid Established in Ireland…
The fifth century abbess St. Brigid is one of Ireland’s three patron saints, along with St. Patrick and St. Columba. DUBLIN, Ireland — The feast of St. Brigid of Kildare, Ireland’s female patron saint, will be a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland beginning in 2023, it was recently announced. Her feast is Feb. 1, and the bank holiday will be observed on the first Monday in February, or...
February Scripture Writing Guide (2022)
Scripture writing plans are incredibly simple, yet incredibly effective for helping us read, interpret and absorb the Word of God. Rather than simply letting our eyes pass over a verse and perhaps miss its full meaning, writing Scripture down helps us absorb each word and really think through what the passage before us is saying. Each day in February you’ll have the opportunity to write down...
Moving Out – Settling In
The skin on my fingers is covered in paint stains, even after scrubbing them. My hands are stiff with cold. I am brushing the empty walls of the new house with paint—pretty words like Bibliothèque, Ritual, and Côte d’Azur. Lots of splotchy squares. Watching light and shadow change each hue as it dries. The next few weeks are ones of transition. Saying goodbye to a home of almost 16 years, wa...
It’s time to consider a sex abuse truth commission for the Catholic Church in the U.S…
After two decades of intensive revelations, the wounds from priestly sex abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States remain vastly unhealed. Most enduringly, thousands of survivors of abuse remain wounded spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, and relationally. The ripple effects have wounded their families and communities on an exponential scale and have weakened trust among members of ...
The generational divide in the priesthood…
This past Christmas Eve, I attended a Midnight Mass while visiting family for the holidays. The Mass was in the old Roman Rite, provided by one of the religious orders dedicated to it, in communion with Rome. When the priest and his servers processed toward my pew, I received a surprise: the priest was a younger man I had known years before. I last saw him nearly a decade ago in Rome. When I first...
St. John Bosco reminds us that teaching children is a labor of love…
Intention is an important attribute in teaching because it proposes a deliberate act of the will to do or act on something or someone. In the case of teaching children about God, this action takes on greater significance because it involves the gradual development of a child’s relationship with God as the primary intention. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead the entire premise of his act was ...
Homeschool athletes are finding a home at Ave Maria University…
Ave currently has, not one or two, but 64 homeschool athletes on scholarship. In the past four decades, it has been exciting to witness so many homeschooling barriers fall. When I began homeschooling back in the early 1980s, homeschooling was illegal in some states. It was widely dismissed as a credible academic option — many colleges refused to accept homeschooled students. These hurdles have bee...
Dominican priest stabbed to death in Vietnam after hearing confessions…
The Diocese of Kon Tum said he was murdered in his house, and that a suspect has been arrested. Dominican Father Giuse (Joseph) Trần Ngọc Thanh was killed in a knife attack on Saturday. Father Trần was attacked Jan. 29 at a mission of Dak Mot, about 40 miles northwest of Kon Tum. He was hearing confessions before the last Mass of the evening, according to Ordo Praedicatorum on Facebook. The Dioces...
Catholic Community Expresses Solidarity After Anglican Pastor Shot Dead in Pakistan on Way Home From Church…
“We demand justice and protection of Christians from the Government of Pakistan,” Marshall wrote on Twitter Jan. 30. The Church of Pakistan is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Methodist Council and the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby wrote online that he joined Marshall in “condemning this abhorrent act.” ...
On this 4th Sunday of the Year, today’s readings set forth a “rule for life” for prophets…
Prophets are those who speak for God. They love Him and His people. They speak the often-painful truth to God’s people not to win an argument but because of their love and their conviction that only His undiluted truth can save us in the end. People-pleasing and other forms of human respect cannot supplant reverence for God and His truth. Prophets are willing to endure pain, suffering, and even de...
