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As we drove through the beachfront resort community, our guide pointed out all the homes of famous people. These were second (and third) residences that belonged to people who lived elsewhere most of the time. Gesturing to one of them, he told us a little about the famous movie... Read More →

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17).  During Christmas week the church commemorates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, honoring the infant victims of Herod’s effort to wipe out the... Read More →

  “I believe in Christianity,” C.S. Lewis said, “as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Lewis’s claim is stunning. It is in Christ, and through Christ, that the world makes sense. Apart from Christ, the world... Read More →

If the United States Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade next June (in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization), violent protests across the nation could very well surpass those that followed the May 25, 2020, killing of George Floyd. It is also likely that the fanatical... Read More →

In the Roman liturgical calendar, this is Gaudete Sunday, “Rejoice Sunday,” a break in the (formerly) stark fasting and penance of the Advent season in favor of a little anticipatory celebration of Christmas. If, like members of monastic orders, you’ve been steeped in self-denial... Read More →

Advent is a time of expectation and preparation for the Christmas celebration of Christ’s first coming into our world. It is also a time to meditate upon the prospect of his second coming at the end of time. “No one knows the day or hour” (Mt. 26:34) when the Lord will return to... Read More →

  Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)   The word “comfort” has considerably weakened in the centuries since it was chosen to translate this passage from the Prophet Isaiah. In its original force, “comfort” comes from the Latin confortare,... Read More →

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1... Read More →

She was telling me about her friend, a married woman who, having found it impossible to conceive a child, had turned to IVF. Two embryos were implanted in her womb, but as they were developing problems arose, resulting in a highly dangerous pregnancy from which she could have... Read More →

Annie Frances McCampbell was born in 1897 on Christmas Day. She hated having a Christmas birthday. As a child, I recall being shocked to hear an elderly woman complain that having her birthday on Christmas meant she got only one annual gift instead of two. Somehow, hearing an... Read More →