Bad Arguments

  Prolifers and pro-choicers occasionally attempt to fortify their arguments by invoking older moral disputes. Prolifers echo Vietnam-era anti-war protests when they call pro-choicers “baby killers.” Calling pro-choicers “eugenicists” insinuates a similarity to Nazis and...
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Against Sudden Death

  In the Great Litany one finds the following petition: “From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death, Good Lord deliver us.” Why is “sudden death” in this list? What is wrong with sudden death? Most people...
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Reclaiming Motherhood

    Motherhood is denigrated in our culture, sometimes even within the church. This stifles our witness on behalf of the unborn and the women who are their mothers. Something similar could be said of the denigration and abdication of fatherhood. But that is for another...
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Over the Post-Roe Blues (Part II)

  The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade sparked celebration and joy throughout the pro-life community. It also unleashed protest and anger in many sectors of the pro-abortion community. “Pro-choice” outbursts of fury in the streets and in the media were...
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The Rosary: A Powerful Instrument

  When we pray on a daily basis, we fulfill God’s intention that we be united to him in thought and affection. Prayer is the fruit of our love for the One who made us and redeemed us. Prayer is a kind of conversation with God: We speak to him using either set prayers or...
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Reflection on St. Francis of Assisi

  The feast day of St. Francis of Assisi tomorrow (October 4) prompts us to consider what this most beloved of Christian saints has to contribute to how we think of the natural environment and our current concerns about it. His “Canticle of the Creatures,” a hymn of praise...
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Little Girls in Older Bodies

  At the altar rail to receive Communion, she knelt, with intention that might not have been so obvious a decade or two ago. Looking up at me, she held out her hands, and then wiggled her fingers to show off her sparkly new manicure. She was a grandmother, but in that moment...
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insult and compliment

In Praise of Dishonesty

  For several years, I was represented in Congress by a man whom I admired. He worked hard, listened to a diverse group of constituents, and, at least in my own neighborhood, did much good. He consistently advocated for the pro-life movement. But then came a scandal: He had...
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The Child Is Real

He came to a midweek theology class I offered but not to Sunday church. He was drinking the truths about God like the young adult he was, totally innocent of Christianity. Creation, the cross, the resurrection, the importance of the body: All of this was news to him. Theology was...
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Getting Over the Post-Roe Blues (Part I)

  When the Supreme Court handed down its Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the pro-life community in the United States celebrated. After 50 years of working tirelessly and witnessing faithfully for the dignity of all human lives—especially for unborn child and mother—a...
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