All Entries in the "Basic Training" Category
Prayer, not strategic campaign, is needed during crisis, pope says
From the Catholic Sun: VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When a community is faced with crisis, persecution and trouble, it should come together in prayer for strength from God, not formulate strategic plans to defend itself from difficulties, Pope Benedict XVI said. Unity is fundamental, he said, and the community needs to come together and [...]
Truth in Advertising: How We Talk About NFP
From Catholic Vote: Yesterday, I exercised heroic virtue. No, I didn’t stare down any lions, crawl to Jerusalem on my knees, or give away all my pretty Anthropologie dresses to the poor. I simply passed up the chance to eat the last turtle brownie in my kitchen. Okay. Maybe “heroic virtue” is a stretch. But [...]
Cohabitation’s Dirty Little Secret
From Archdiocese of Washington: Back the 1970s there was a lot of talk that living together before marriage was a “wise” thing to do. After all, said its proponents, “You need to try a shoe on before buying it” and “You take a car for a test ride before negotiating the deal.” Never mind that [...]
Altar Rail Returning to Use
From National Catholic Register: In Tiverton, R.I., when some parishioners suggested returning altar rails to the sanctuary of Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Father Jay Finelli gladly accepted, little knowing shortly thereafter the Pope’s 2007 motu proprio letter Summorum Pontificumwould follow and he would be interested in learning how to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass. In Norwalk, [...]
Silver Lining to HHS Mandate
From National Catholic Register: WASHINGTON — Could there possibly be a silver lining in the federal contraception mandate controversy? For all the institutional disruption, political spin and vitriol generated by the mandate’s supporters, who have mischaracterized the bishops’ stance as a “war on women,” the crisis has yielded some unexpected fruits. Not only has it [...]
Birth Rates vs. Pregnancy Rates
From National Catholic Register: The birth rate is a very different thing than the pregnancy rate. But many are happy to pretend they’re the same when convenient. Here’s one such good example which was pointed out by Students for Life: In a new report, the CDC has released figures showing that the U.S. teen (ages [...]
Traditional Catholicism Is Winning
From the Wall Street Journal: In his Holy Thursday homily at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 5, Pope Benedict XVI denounced calls from some Catholics for optional celibacy among priests and for women’s ordination. The pope said that “true renewal” comes only through the “joy of faith” and “radicalism of obedience.” And renewal is coming. [...]
99.98% of Priests Innocent of Sex Abuse
From Opposing Views: Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the findings of the 2011 Annual Report on priestly sexual abuse that was released by the bishops’ conference; the survey was done by a Georgetown institute: The headlines should read, “Abuse Problem Near Zero Among Priests,” but that is not what is being reported. According [...]
I Miss Women Wearing Hats and Veils in Church. A brief reminiscence of days gone by.
From Archdiocese of Washington: I know, I know, I am so hopelessly old fashioned. But I want to say, I miss women wearing hats. I have written before (HERE) of how I miss them wearing the veil in Church. But even before the veil, the hat was more commonly worn by women in 1940s and [...]
Pope Benedict XVI: “Is Disobedience A Path of Renewal?”
From Whispers in the Loggia: HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI HOLY THURSDAY MASS OF THE CHRISM ST PETER’S BASILICA 5 APRIL 2012 Dear Brothers and Sisters, At this Holy Mass our thoughts go back to that moment when, through prayer and the laying on of hands, the bishop made us sharers in the priesthood of [...]
