I presume that the custom of eating cucumbers on the feast of the Prophet Elisha refers to the poisoned stew in 2 Kings 8:38-41. The stew was poisoned with wild cucumbers, but Elisha miraculously made it safe to eat.

'When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. Once, when the guild prophets were seated before him, he said to his servant, “Put the large pot on, and make some vegetable stew for the guild prophets.” Someone went out into the field to gather herbs and found … [More]

How much good could be done by those extremely wealthy persons, if only they could see and understand the teaching of the Catholic Church in Humanae Vitae. They could provide much needed help for the pro-life movement, for unwed mothers, and for needy children. But instead, they squander billions of dollars on schemes to flood the world with more and more contraception. We should be praying for their sincere repentance and wholehearted conversion.

Ouch. That was painful. If these poor novices ever get ordained, they will probably live to regret the fact that someone convinced them to prance around on the stage like this, and worse, that someone put the whole thing on video. It was painful to watch it today, and it will be painful, years from now, to have to watch it again.

It was entirely appropriate for the archbishop of Chicago to warn an Italian Catholic organization against giving honors to an American public figure who opposes the Church's teachings. This is a matter of faith and morality, not "politics."

Ear rings on a nun? When was the last time she smiled?

What is wrong with giving severence pay to a former employee? It does not imply approval of the immoral actions of the employee.

There was a peculiar phrase used by the Ursuline sister, in the midst of her jumble of peculiar statements. She did not say that the billionaire "follows" her conscience, but that she "leads" from her conscience. I am not sure what the sister meant by that.

But it sounds like a case of "the blind leading the blind." If one has an erroneous conscience, one leads others into error.

Perhaps, the only thing worse than covering up the Holy Name of Jesus behind the podium of a pro-abortion politician, would be letting a pro-abortion politician speak at a podium in front of the Holy Name of Jesus.
It would have been better to tell the pro-abortion speaker to go somewhere else, because we do not hide the Holy Name of Jesus, and we do not allow speeches by pro-abortion politicians here.

The absurd non-reaction of the faculty to immoral and heretical speakers is as bad, or even worse, than their protests against cardinals and other faithful Catholic speakers.

The deep sense of self-pity in this speaker gives rise to a shocking level of vicious anger and cruelty toward others. He seems incapable of seeing himself as the bully he has become. It was encouraging to see the good sense of the many young people who left during his ranting and raving.

I doubt that many Planned Parenthood employees and supporters will actually persevere in any amount of "prayer" for forty days. Having a colorful piece of paper with forty pro-abortion "intentions" is not actually praying.

I doubt that many of them will actually meet together and pray together for a long period of time (where would they go?). But if some of them try to do so, they may quickly find themselves changing their beliefs. If any of them make a sincere effort to pray, they will be in … [More]

"Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” Mark 6:11

Let the Vanderbilts keep their name. Leave it behind entirely.

"Shot and strung up" would be redundant, but "over-killing" is not without precedent. Many of the English Catholic martyrs endured the dreadful and revolting torture of being "hanged, drawn and quartered." Fr. Finnegan refers to a classic book by Adrian Fortescue, "The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described." But Fortescue is silent on the question of what to wear to a hanging.

That was a little painful to watch. I hope they are better at the study of theology than they are at aerobic exercises.

In a world forgetful of God, evil practices flourish. Even in the great crowds that gather to celebrate sporting events, organized crime finds a "market" for sin. It is good for the Sisters to fight against it.

However, it is a little disconcerting to see the website of this particular group of sisters from Cleveland, because their list of social justice issues and "women's issues" omits any reference to abortion and the pro-life movement. Perhaps they are pro-life; I hope they are. But their … [More]

This posting has been cancelled by the author of the medium.

Let us also pray for the Jews that God our Lord should illuminate their hearts, so that they will recognize Jesus Christ, the Savior of all men.

Let us pray. Let us genuflect. Rise.

All-powerful and eternal God, you who wish that all men be saved and come to the recognition of truth, graciously grant that when the fullness of peoples enters your Church all of Israel will be saved.
Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

The cliche that "you can't legislate morality" is false. The only thing that can be legislated is morality. Laws are unjust when they fail to do so.
The fuzzy thinking behind the cliche could be clarified by making a few distinctions. Passing a law against a crime does not automatically make men virtuous or holy. Also, not every sin should be punished by civil law (e.g., missing Mass on Sunday?). However, even if some will disobey a just law, the law helps to teach and clarify which things are … [More]

It would be easy to find a more credible voice to articulate the teachings of the Catholic Church. For example, maybe there is someone who has not publicly spoken and campaigned against the Church's teachings? Or maybe someone who has publicly repented of having done so?

It is not clear that the priest actually "stole" the money donated to the parish, but that large amounts of money, several hundred thousand dollars, were put in "slush funds" instead of the proper accounts for the parish.

This kind of book-keeping hides large amounts of money from legitimate authority, and prevents the diocese from exercising its responsibility to supervise the parish finances. If this is true, then the priest was engaged in improper book-keeping, at the very least, on a very … [More]

The author of this article uses a peculiar phrase: "the increasing animosity of conservative Episcopalians ..." What is the meaning of "animosity" in this context? The author seems to perceive only "animosity" in Catholic moral and doctrinal teachings, for example the teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful.

I notice that the article was published on a militant atheist website called "(A)theologies." That website is filled with attacks on Christianity, God, and any form of religious belief … [More]

Dog haiku:
A stiff steady breeze.
My ears ripple and billow.
The window is mine.

I think this is the feast of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, not Christmas. The feast of St. Lucy is December 13th.

The Jesuit who wrote this peculiar article for the Washington Post has a long history of peculiar and ambiguous statements regarding faith and morals. He is the "culture editor" for America magazine.

The perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was affirmed by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, calling her "the holy and glorious Mary, mother of God and ever-virgin (aeiparthenos)." The Church constantly reaffirms this title, "ever-virgin," in the sacred liturgy, and there is no … [More]

A few of the occupier/bystanders seemed to welcome the Nativity scene (e.g., "Christ is the reason for the season. I don't see why you'd be offended").

But it was sad to see the disdain, hostility and confusion shown by some of those who expressed their opinions. One of them should occupy a math class ("What about the other 10%?").

We would all do well to look up a few words, for reasons of orthography as well as orthodoxy.

The dour Puritans of Massachusetts never liked Christmas to begin with, because the festivities were too much associated with the Catholic faith. In 1659 they made it a crime to celebrate Christmas, punishable by a fine. And the old Puritanism lingers in modern, secular Massachusetts. What a dull, unenjoyable celebration, with no sweets and no cookies for the kids.

But the Catholic mind knows how to fast and how to feast. Let Advent be a time of fasting and penance, by all means, but let … [More]

Our Lady of "Ransom," pray for us.

I'm not sure about this one. I think that the law would support the homeowners association. The statue was not on the man's own property. But it is sad that anyone saw the statue as a problem. And the article says he is being fined for $4000? That is too extreme.