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Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
Today is the feast day of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of Mexico, Patroness of the Americas. In honor of today’s feast, I want to share the message of Papa Francisco to...
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Agreeing with the Pope by Misinterpreting Him
My colleague Morning’s Minion has two recent posts (here and here) about the “heartburn” experienced by conservatives in the US caused by Pope Francis’ recent apostolic exhortation. Among the...
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Gaudete!
On this blessed Feast of the Nativity, may the Lord give you every blessing under Heaven. May every gift given and received remind you of the gift of eternal life, which is His Son.
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Asking the Question: Why are they Poor?
Preface: The following post is adapted from an article I wrote for the quarterly newsletter of the Solanus Casey Region of the Secular Franciscan Order. Last month I was named the regional chair of...
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A Quick Question on the Lectionary
As I was studying the readings for today, I noticed a translation difference between the Lectionary and the NIV for today’s psalm, Psalm 29. This led me to poke around and I discovered that there were...
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When Atheists Fail as Parents
The Guardian today has an essay by a bemused father whose eight year old daughter is converting to Catholicism. He and his wife, both atheists, are both quite taken aback by this decision. He...
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Reforming the Annulment Process
Resolved: The canonical annulment process should be scrapped and the Catholic response to divorce should be reformed following the model of the Orthodox Churches. Fr. Peter Daly, a pastor in the DC...
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Pope Francis: Solidly Pro-Life
A oft used joke is to respond to a question whose answer is obviously yes by asking, “Is the Pope Catholic?” A variant of this would be to ask, “Is the Pope Pro-Life?”: the answer should be equally...
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MSW on the Left and Abortion
Recently I wrote a critique of the Pro-Life movement, suggesting that it was in the grips of a totalizing ideology. Several commentators responded by arguing that this sort of attack was a reflection...
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Femininism, Modesty and the Prostitutes of Calle Montera
Recently my colleague Kyle has posted a discussion of a video on the virtue of modesty. I found it fascinating as a cultural artifact, since it assumes without question so many of the many tropes...
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Faithfulness and Loyalty
I ran across a lovely column by Fr. William Grimm, a MaryKnoll Missioner in Japan, on the difference between faithfulness and loyalty. This is something I have struggled with myself, and he has really...
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Never Ask a Question
There is an old bit of advice that a trial lawyer should never ask a question he does not already know the answer to; another version, illustrated by the following (apocryphal) story, says he should...
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A Lenten Exercise on the Creed, Part I
I would like to invite our readers to join me on a spiritual exercise over the next three weeks. Posted below is a passage from the Nicene Creed. I am asking each of you to reflect on it and add...
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A Lenten Exercise on the Creed, Part II
We continue our Lenten reflection on the Creed. Please see Part I for the ground rules. Please contribute! For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was...
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A Lenten Exercise on the Creed, Part III
In this post we conclude our Lenten reflection on the Nicene Creed. Parts I and II can be found here and here. Please contribute! I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who...
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Being Poor in the Third World
Nine years ago the science fiction writer John Scalzi published a blog post entitled Being Poor. It became very popular and was reprinted in a number of venues. It consisted of a series of short...
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Some Thoughts on Promoting Vocations
This past Sunday was World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In my own parish my pastor apologized for not addressing this in his homily. As he put it, he was faced with Good Shepard Sunday, Mothers Day...
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Modern Liturgical Music
Resolved: As Roman Catholics observe the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council’s “Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation,” it seems an appropriate time to consider ways...
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Thoughts on Vocations II: Images of the Priesthood
In my first post on vocations I suggested a different way to think about the crisis in priestly vocations: reframe the numbers needed by localizing to the level of individual parishes. I do not...
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On Catholic Dress: Sexuality, Status, Modesty and True Humility
Back in February I had a post on modesty and dress, which I analyzed through the feminist lens of the “male gaze.” This is a subject we have discussed regularly on Vox Nova (see here, here, here, and...
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