Being positive is a Catholic view

How will we testify to the greatness of our God, to the unconditional love of Christ and to the forgiveness and grace we believe we have been endowed with — even through the challenges and heartaches — if we are not joyous?

Author’s third book on Mother Angelica a fitting tribute to late nun

Unless you lived under a cabbage leaf for the past 30 years or so, you already know that the Mother Angelica (1923-2016) of this book’s title was the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network. As such, she became the first Catholic media personality to garner the attention of the public in anywhere near the numbers racked up by the late, much-admired Archbishop Fulton Sheen in the mid-20th century.

Fear vs. Love

Last year I wrote a column about how love conquers hate. That was true then, and it’s still true now. But as global terror rages on, as global economic crises loom, and as national security concerns hang over our heads like a wet rag on our spirits, maybe it’s important to also realize that love beats fear too when the chips are down.

Religious liberty is an absolute

Recently there was a case of a woman who petitioned the state of Illinois to be able to wear a colander on her head in her drivers’ license photo as part of her religious beliefs. The woman was a Pastafarian, a member of the faux Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster invented out of the imagination of atheist activists.

Humanae Vitae Rediscovered

“We need to return to the message of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae of Blessed Pope Paul VI, which highlights the need to respect the dignity of the person in morally assessing methods of regulating birth.” With these words in his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis reminded us that his own teaching on marriage and the family builds on the teaching of his papal predecessors; in this particular case when it comes to contraception and the gift of new human life, he draws our attention to the prophetic voice of Blessed Paul VI.

Humanae Vitae Redescubierto

“Es preciso redescubrir el mensaje de la Encíclica Humanae Vitae del Beato Pablo VI, la cual hace hincapié en la necesidad de respetar la dignidad de la persona en la valoración moral de los métodos de regulación de la natalidad”. Con estas palabras en su exhortación apostólica Amoris Laetitia, el Papa Francisco nos recuerda que su propia enseñanza sobre el matrimonio y la familia se basa en la enseñanza de sus predecesores papales; en este caso en particular cuando se trata de métodos anticonceptivos y el don de la nueva vida humana, llama la atención a la voz profética del Beato Pablo VI.

JC’s Stride: Reason to hope in spite of the chaos around us

No matter how grim the news, no matter how appalling the latest trend in the culture, we trust in His tender care to see us through every storm.

Un padre está con sus hijos

El amor de un padre por sus hijos y su esposa es capturado en una palabra de tres letras: con. Esto lo vemos en la vida de San José, el padre adoptivo de Jesús. Aunque es mencionado varias veces en los evangelios de Mateo y Marcos, ninguna de sus palabras fue escrita. Lo que importó fue que José estaba allí, presente junto a María y Jesús, siempre dispuesto a escuchar y animarles, a proteger y proveer.

A Father’s WITH

The love of a father for his children and his wife is captured in a four-letter word: with. We see this in the life of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. Even though he is mentioned a number of times in the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, no words of his are recorded. What mattered was that Joseph was there, present to Mary and Jesus, always ready to listen and to encourage, to protect and to provide.

JC’s Stride: Want to help defeat terror? Live the Gospel message

“You’ve got to wake them up!” These are the words spoken to me by priests from the Middle East, men who have held fast to faith in Jesus Christ in spite of great danger and suffering. They warn us of a murderous ideology bent on stamping out Christianity and dominating the world. “By the time America wakes up,” one priest told me, “it will be too late.”