This year, Banned Books Week is September 23-29, Many years this event has been more commemoration than celebration. There has been an edge of defiance to it as well—no one is going to tell me what I can read! Legitimate…
Is It Okay To Ban Books?
From Hopelessness to Hope
And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured…
Reflections on Humanae Vitae Part III: Paul’s Prophecy
There are many reasons that Paul VI, the author of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae, will soon be canonized as a saint. For today’s article, I would like to focus on one particular element that may have been a factor:…
Seeing with the Eyes of Faith
Søren Kierkegaard, the famous 19th century Danish philosopher, describes faith in God as a “leap”, a decision to believe in God made not on the basis of evidence, but as an act of the will, a sort of metaphysical jump…
Reflections on Humanae Vitae Part II: What Went Wrong
The pope is the head of the Catholic Church. Every Catholic knows that we are called to listen to him as the Vicar of Christ on Earth. But when Blessed Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae in 1968, an enormous…
In the School of the Holy Spirit
Are you pursuing a plan for holiness? In his book, In the School of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Jacques Philippe writes, “Holiness is not a program for life, but something obtained from God. We all have the power to become…
Why Christians Should Evangelize Like Ants
It’s getting muggy here in Southern California, and the hot temperatures and humidity seem to be a call for the ants to rally. I’ve started sprinkling cinnamon along the edges of the food cabinets, and all dishes must be clean…
Staying Connected
Do you remember when your telephone was connected to the kitchen wall? Or how about when your computer was connected to a jack in the wall and you could hear the sounds of being connected to the internet? I’m sure…
How Can I Welcome Someone at Mass?
None of us want our parishes to be a place that’s not welcoming, that’s not hospitable to the outsider, visitor, guest, or occasional-attender. The question is how? What to do? What can I as just one individual do to welcome someone at Mass?…
Reflections on Humanae Vitae Part I – What it Says
The Church is about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of its most famous encyclicals in the modern world: Humanae Vitae. Of course if you have read most of the press coverage, the word “celebrate” may seem a bit…