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  The Equality Act (H.R.5), which attaches sexual orientation and gender identity to civil rights laws, would be devastating if implemented. Not necessarily for the church, for despite the threat to religious liberty it poses, the church will press on. The Lord has always... Read More →

  Memorial Day is a time for Americans to remember other Americans who, to put it in idealistic terms, gave their lives in the service of freedom in this world. However, while remembering those who died for the sake of freedom, we are bound to recall others who have gone on... Read More →

  Classic Christian trinitarian doctrine is expressed by analogy with a distinction drawn from common human experience. Here’s the distinction: There are many things that people make—physical items (houses, say) as well as intellectual ones (musical compositions). And then... Read More →

  What do you do when it feels like you’re losing? For decades, anxiety over imminent defeat has challenged the pro-life movement, nudging us into self-defeating attitudes and behaviors. Prolifers who want to be faithful to our cause might draw some inspiration from pop... Read More →

  On May 13, forty days after Easter Sunday, most of the Christian world celebrates Ascension Day. Then begin the nine days leading up to Pentecost, the climax of the Easter season. These nine days, when the disciples prayed together in Jerusalem, are called the “Great Novena,”... Read More →

I served for 11 years as a chaplain in the United States Naval Reserve. Chaplains’ school consisted of a seven-week training program at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. One of the lessons we learned was how to carry on “deck-plate ministry.” Chaplains were instructed to get... Read More →

  I have taught in schools, seminaries, and churches all my adult life. My first job was as babysitter to my cousins, followed by nursery attendant at my church. My first job after college was teaching pre-school, where I was assigned immediately to the beleaguered... Read More →

  The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church strives to serve the Gospel of Life. Remember that the Gospel of Life is simply the Gospel, and that the Gospel is simply the Gospel of Life. (St. John Paul II and Rev. Richard John Neuhaus often reminded us of that.) Political... Read More →

  You may have heard it said—even in a sermon, which should be free of such speculation—that Christians chose December 25 to celebrate Jesus’ birth because that was the day the Romans held a festival celebrating the sun god. The idea, oft proclaimed, is that Christianity... Read More →

  Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” It’s an aggressive instruction. The word for “put,” as elsewhere in this passage, can mean throwing, thrusting, plunging—the... Read More →