Hi Folks and Happy New Year to all of you. Well now, the Christmas Octave has been one wild, week long journey, has it not? We left the depot wrapped with the peace, joy and love of Christmas Day, and our first stop was at the stoning execution of the […]
To Defend Our Faith We MUST Write
I have finally come to the realization that there are many, many people who call themselves “Catholic”, but out of those numbers, maybe 22% are actually “practicing Catholics”. That means that 22% go to Mass on a weekly basis. Interestingly, many of the 22% do not think it matters if […]
Being Thankful for Thanksgiving
I’m a holiday kind of guy. I love the Christmas season with its “peace-on-earth” and ‘”joy-to-the-world” messages, and Santa Claus, and elves and Christmas lights, and all that comes with the excitement leading up to Christmas Day. Most of all, I love the “reason for the season”—acknowledging the birth of […]
Why We Catholics “Pray” to Saints
In parishes throughout the country, the Litany of Saints is a regular feature at Mass throughout the month of November, at Baptisms, and at other important times in the Liturgy. Just in time for those contentious arguments that crop up at the holidays, Larry Peterson tackled the thorny topic of […]
We Catholics are not a threat to anyone—or are we?
After President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton made a video apologizing for a 13-minute video trailer that offended the vast Muslim world, it dawned on me that maybe we Catholics are the ones who deserve an apology. At about the same time they were spreading their apologies, the “PissChrist” […]
Is It Possible That They Really DON’T Care?
I have encapsulated myself within an illusion. The illusion was that the vast majority of the young Catholic folks (let’s go with 40 and under) of today do not understand the faith the way that they should. So, what way was that? I attended Catholic school in the 50’s and […]
Independence Day & Fortnight 4 Freedom–“In God We Trust”
This July 4th it seems to me that forces have collided creating a perfect storm. People of all faiths have united together for a non-denominational holy day, with the Catholics on the front line willing to be the first to take the bullets. I know I am proud that our […]
They Need to Stay Out of Our Faith
I’m tired folks. Not because I am a senior citizen or because my back hurts or because I am a cancer survivor. All of that stuff is GOOD. I am tired and worn out from being slapped upside the head because I am Catholic. Yeah–just like all of you here– […]
We All Write About Adversity, Don’t We?
Both of my published books deal with kids who are dealing with adversity. Someone asked why. The question stopped me dead in my tracks because I had never thought about “why”. Anyway, the answer was quickly clear to me. Since we are the sum total of our life’s experience (at […]
U.S. Bishops’s Holy Week Prayer Request
I saw a news clip the other day where a guy in California (I don’t remember the city) was taken away in handcuffs for reading the Bible in public. That 20 second video encapsulated for me the entire secular barrage that has been taking place against religion, especially our Catholic […]