Regular Contributions
What Our Grandparents Have Always Done
I’ve been following opera and Italian food expert Fred Plotkin for a number of years now. Politically, philosophically (in large measure) and theologically, we would likely find ourselves opponents. He is a self-described “pleasure activist and egalitarian,” whereas I assent to an orthodox understanding of a divinely ordered hierarchy in the universe and recognize–in a phrase that may…
5 Crazy Things you Didn’t know about St. Ignatius of Loyola
These 5 things about St. Ignatius of Loyola will shock you! 2 bonus: Ignigo’s ultimate prayer, and the one formula they have to convert souls is in their constitution (do they do it?)
Hobby Lobby: Whatever You Do to the Least…
Though the Supreme Court in Burwell, et al v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., et al., (argued on the Feast of the Annunciation and released on June 30, 2014), held in favor of Hobby Lobby in a 5-4 decision, Justice Kennedy’s concurring opinion presents ample reason for concern: …it should be said that the Court’s opinion…
A mystery for our readers: Do you know anything about this Cross?
My aunt had her 90th birthday party and gave me some things. Among them, she gave me this cross. Anybody know what this is called and when these were made? We’ll give a hint: this one carries an indulgence from a Pope Pius. Tell us in the comments what this is!
BAM! Paprocki Drops a Knee on the Head Bob crowd
Thank God! Do you hear the sound? (bam!) That’s the sound of a knee being dropped. In a pastoral letter, Ars celebrandi et adorandi, given to his diocese on June 22, Bishop Paprocki says it: “the proper reverence to the Blessed Sacrament is ‘to bend the knee,’ to genuflect.” THANK GOD! On Bending the Knee Wait! Do you hear the…
Book Review: Credentialed to Destroy: How and Why Education Became a Weapon by Robin Eubanks
Over the last three decades, there have been a number of excellent books written to explore the direction education reform has taken. Some look narrowly at specific programs or policies; other take a broader perspective, following the historical trends that bring us to our present moment. Robin Eubanks’ Credentialed to Destroy: How and Why Education…
Fr. Hardon’s Analysis of Bellarmine will help you Defeat the Devil
If you ever listened to Fr. Hardon in real life, or you’ve heard the tapes, CDs or recordings of his, you know the clues he’d give you in the middle of a sentence, “but… what a crucial adversative this is… but… without exception.” He’d grab your attention and get you to pay attention. He had other…
Messenger of Truth film reveals Solidarity Movement is not Alinskyian Organizing
Are the social justice concerns of the Polish Solidanosc movement just another form of Alinsky? Stephanie Block reveals why the film Messenger of Truth, about Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko, won’t win any awards from the Industrial Areas Foundation.
Not in Compliance? Oh…you will be.
The U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) has the ability to grant “flexibility waivers” to states that are having difficulty meeting “specific requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).” However, this flexibility isn’t free. It is offered “in exchange for rigorous and comprehensive State-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all…
Subpar Catechesis
It is not uncommon to run into a debate on how best to solve the issues plaguing the Church. There is no dearth of suggestions about what to do to combat the many forces, both within and without, that assail the Church. I’ve heard many great suggestions, from a renewal to the liturgy to a…