What changed when parents gave their 10-year-old her first iPad?
I continue to work my way through the much-discussed book “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt. It’s slow work, in part because I am taking lots of notes. I don’t know about you folks, but I am a slow, careful reader when dealing with subjects that I believe are unusually important.
Thank You, Bill Maher, But Your Critique of Hollywood’s Depravity Didn’t Go Far Enough...
If you haven’t seen talk show host Bill Maher’s recent monologue calling out the pedophilia problem in Hollywood, you really should take the eight and a half minutes to do so. I’m glad someone finally said the sexual exploitation of children is wrong, and that Hollywood’s complicity and hypocrisy are appalling. However, the problem is deeper than Maher thinks...
5 middle schoolers who protested trans athlete’s participation banned from future competitions...
The Pope says you’re welcome. But are you interested?
In the latest, broadcast by CBS (with a more extensive version to air in May), Pope Francis is asked about the many Catholics who have left the Church. His answer is revealing in several ways. He insists that there is “always a place” for Catholics in the Church. “If in this parish, the priest doesn’t seem welcoming, I understand,” he says; “but go and look elsewhere”...
Begotten by Love: A Reflection on the Sixth Sunday of Easter...
God is love, and He revealed that love in sending His only Son to be a sacrificial offering for our sins. In these words from today’s Epistle, we should hear an echo of the story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac at the dawn of salvation history. Because Abraham obeyed God’s command and did not withhold his only beloved son, God promised that Abraham’s descendants...
What Do Atheists Believe?
Words are the way we communicate from one mind to another. A word is external expression of an internal idea, but it is not a mechanical or quantifiable act in binary code with precise meaning. The same word can mean different things to different people. To “believe” is such a word. Previously (What is Atheism?), I used Graham Oppy’s book, Atheism: The Basics, for the definition of atheism...
Shows like ‘Ghost Hunters’ are silly. For centuries, the world’s expert in paranormal investigations has been the Catholic Church...
These days, there are numerous ghost hunting and paranormal TV shows. A few examples include Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Kindred Spirits, Paranormal Lockdown, and Help! My House Is Haunted.Frankly, these shows are silly. Shows like this are not taken seriously by competent paranormal investigators.However, what is a Catholic to make of the subject of paranormal investigations itself?
Here’s a Catholic spiritual hand grenade for you...
I have a charism that causes problems for me periodically. It can feel like I am tossing a spiritual hand grenade into the room and walking out before it goes off. But, before I tell you more about it, I want to make sure we all understand charisms the same. A charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit, given for the good of others, so the person with the charism becomes a channel of God’s love for others.
What you pray for, virtual priesthood, and an Eastern mystery...
Pope Francis May Visit United States in September After UN Invitation...
What should you do if your employer asks you to sign a non-discrimination policy?
Can You Really Run on Top of a Train, Like in the Movies?
Welcome to the Reign of Gay, Ecclesiastical Edition...
Catholic Answers Pulls Plug on ‘Father Justin’ AI Priest After Social Media Firestorm...
The Return of the Canonized Popes...
For centuries after Pope St. Pius V, who died in 1572 and whose feast day was April 30, Catholics may well have thought that he was the last of a dwindling tribe, the canonized pope. That has changed dramatically in recent decades. Indeed, April 27 marked the 10th anniversary of the twin papal canonizations of St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II...
Daddy, what bead are we on?
“Daddy, what bead are we on?” is a question I am asked frequently by my two oldest sons during our nighttime rosary. It is a question that at first perturbed me, but the more they asked the question, the more I fell in love with them asking the question. Their little souls are so precious. They seek to love God in their own way, and in their time. Although they lose their place on the rosary...
Hungry Priests Are Not Needy Priests...
The position of a priest can be the loneliest position in the world. All humans have a fundamental hunger to be appreciated, yet very few of our Spiritual Fathers fully receive or seek this out. Affirming what you know is good and true about another person is not only necessary, but essential, for the nourishment of any relationship. This can begin with you...
Mothering Sunday: The baptismal holiday we missed in America...
It’s a little late for this year, but I’ve just learned, for the first time in my life, of the special day called Mothering Sunday, observed in the United Kingdom and some other related countries. Contrary to some sources, this is not an opportunity for people to visit their mothers, and it doesn’t have much to do with the movie of the same name. Rather, this observance originated in the Middle Ages on the fourth Sunday in Lent...
This book offers support and hope for Catholic dads who have lost a child...
The Fruitful Trials of St. Paul...
Imagine if Osama bin Laden, after masterminding terrorist attacks, had repented and begun proclaiming Jesus Christ and the Gospel? Christians might understandably still be afraid of him and wary of his claimed Christian conversion. In the first century, prior to his famous conversion, St. Paul had intensely persecuted God’s Church and tried to destroy it...
Pope Francis to Visit Verona for a Trip Centered on Peace and Justice...
This Sunday, Jesus Is the Vine Leading From Genesis to Heaven, Through You...
Jesus compares himself to a plant in the Gospel reading for Mass on the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B. In fact, this Gospel comes from the night before he died, in the Last Supper Discourse, after he had spent much of the last week of his life comparing himself — and us — to plant life. After entering Jerusalem, he cursed a fig tree that was providing no fruit...
Did Pope Francis Just Endorse ‘Parish Shopping’?
The Fullness of Life: Bishop Erik Varden’s Resurrection of Chastity...
While Lent offers us a clear path of conversion, turning away from the world, Easter invites us into God’s own life. In Lent, we seek to die with Christ; in Easter, we must live with him. It appears an anticlimactic season after the rigors of prayer and fasting, but Lent is ordered to Easter as a period of training to live a more joyful and integrated life in Christ.
Cardinal Fernández: New Document on Discerning Apparitions ‘Being Finalized’...
Cincinnati’s Catholic Xavier University lists abortion in its health insurance plan...
Benedict XVI: What is the source of objections to Catholic sexual morality?
Here are the strengths of Dignitas Infinita — along with 7 notable ambiguities in the document...
Get this entire Catholic website as an instant digital download...
The full contents of the New Advent website are available as a digital download. It includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — and it's only $19.99...
CATHOLIC LINKS
Adoration: Adoration DirectoryAudio: Lighthouse
Bibles: Douay - Knox - NAB - RSVCE
Blogs: Blog Directory
Bulletins: Seek and Find
Calendars: Calendar - Easter Table
Catechisms: Baltimore Catechism - Catechism of the Catholic Church
Events: Catholic Event Finder
Forums: Catholics Answers
Novenas: Pray More Novenas
HHS Mandate: Becket Fund
Jobs: Jobs for Catholics
Latin: Ecclesiastical Latin Resources
Latin Mass: TLM Altar Server Tutorial - TLM Mass Directory
Mass Times #1: MassTimes
Mass Times #2: Catholic Mass Time
Movie Reviews: USCCB Movie Reviews
Panoramas: St. John Lateran - Sistine Chapel
Readings: Today's Readings (USCCB)
Retreats: U.S. Retreats and Retreat Centers
OTHER LINKS
Cameras: EarthCam (Live) - Aerial PanoramasComics: Calvin and Hobbes - C&H Search Engine - Dilbert - Peanuts
Customer Service: GetHuman
Find Things: Mailboxes (USA) - Payphones - Phone Numbers
Money: Missing Money
Privacy: Do Not Call
Reading Lists: USLHE - Marines
Scanners: Air Traffic Control - Radio Reference - Broadcastify
Shopping (Local): Yard Sales
Tracking: Airplanes - ISS - Satellites - Ships #1 - Ships #2
Travel (Flying): Turbulence - VFR Maps - SeatGuru - FlightAware
Travel (Hotels): Bed Bug Registry
Weather: ECMRF (Europe) - NCAR/RAP - Wind Map - National Weather Service (USA)
