Archive for October, 2007
« Previous EntriesOdds and Ends
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Even before the Alex Trebek era, I was a big fan of Jeopardy. Back then it was hosted by Art Fleming, who was introduced by the iconic Don Pardo (whose favorite category, like CUF staffer Pete Balbirnie, was “Potent Potables”).
One of my favorite categories as a kid was “Odds and Ends,” because you never knew […]
Men of Valor
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007This week (Oct. 28-Nov. 4) is “pornography awareness week.” It’s a sad commentary on our society that we would need to give pornography its own “awareness week.” But we need to face the sobering fact that pornography is one of the most pernicious, widespread elements of the “culture of death.”
The pornography industry brings in more […]
Everybody Still Loves Raymond
Monday, October 29th, 2007This week marks the third anniversary of the series of events that led to the adoption of our youngest son, Raymond. In keeping with today’s Mass reading from Romans 8 (”For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry […]
Blaming the Bishops
Friday, October 26th, 2007The Connecticut legislature, over relentless objection from the Connecticut bishops, passes a law that requires all hospitals in the state, including Catholic hospitals, to administer “emergency contraception” without first administering an ovulation test. Members of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” where else but in San Francisco, as part of their mockery of the Catholic faith, […]
Waiting for the Bomb to Drop
Thursday, October 25th, 2007In today’s guest column, John Kippley addresses the ”population bomb.” He doesn’t spend much time addressing this discredited myth. Rather, he assumes for the sake of argument that over-population of the planet is a problem that must be addressed by modern man, and convincingly shows that the existence in itself of such a concern by no means justifies recourse to contraception.
Defending Humanae Vitae: […]
My Brother Louie
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007As we meditate on the Gospels, it’s only natural that we would try to imagine what the various biblical figures looked like, beginning with Our Lord Himself. One character I find especially intriguing is Zacchaeus, whose encounter with our Lord is recorded in Luke 19:1-10.
Whenever I think of Zacchaeus, I picture Louie De Palma, Danny […]
Me? A Missionary?
Monday, October 22nd, 2007Yes, me. And you, too. In his homily for World Mission Sunday, which we just observed, Fr. Ray Ryland (CUF’s spiritual advisor and a convert from the Episcopal church) talks about why “Evangelization is Everybody’s Job”:
If one judges from the small number of people we Catholics bring to Christ and His Church each year, the […]
A Tale of Two Worldviews
Monday, October 22nd, 2007One of the most disturbing news items of the past week was the decision of a middle school in Maine to make birth control pills available to its students, which mostly are 11-13 years old. While students need permission to use the school’s health center, the treatment received there is confidential. Therefore, students and health […]
Where’s the Blood?
Friday, October 19th, 2007“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” This ancient Christian maxim hits home in a particular way today as we celebrate the feast of Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, and companions, commonly known as “the North American martyrs.” I remember what an awesome and humbling experience it was to stand […]
According to Luke
Thursday, October 18th, 2007“Saints week” continues today with the feast of St. Luke, author of the third Gospel and companion of St. Paul.
I don’t know about you, but I grow weary of study Bibles and Bible studies that go to great lengths to explain to us that so and so didn’t actually write the book of the Bible […]