VIEWS

In my patient’s opinion, she was well past child-rearing years. Yet she found herself pregnant. Previous talks about her consternation left me worried that she would seek to end her pregnancy.

The close connection between faith and forgiveness is evident from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. His first words recorded by St. Mark resound with this message (Mk 1:15): “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

We weren’t always on board with Natural Family Planning — it seemed a little pie-in-the-sky at first. As we went through marriage preparation some 10 years ago, we questioned whether this was a reliable method for spacing pregnancies. Sure it’s Church teaching, but is it realistic? We needed proof that the science was sound and that the moral arguments made sense.

I admit it: I’ve always loved to read. There’s nothing I enjoy more than being curled up with a good book in the company of my husband and children who are similarly engaged.

Adam Lanza murdered his mother, forced his way into a school, and killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself. There was a depressing familiarity to it.

Anyone who’s ever had the joy of having a houseful of teenage and 20-something males knows what I mean when I say that it’s all about the food. One local teenager stands apart from the crowd.

Last time we looked at what Pope Francis writes about Jesus in his apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel.” Now let us consider what the Holy Father has to say about the Mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Chesterton’s rollicking humor, which bound both friend and foe to him, was not a quirk of personality. It was an expression of his Christian faith, hope and love.

Not the blood-spattered walls, not the unsterilized surgical instruments, not the corpses of tiny babies kept in cat food containers are of interest to reporters and their editors these days, unless of course they belong to the Catholic or pro-life press.

You’ve seen them. Holding cardboard signs with scrawled pleas for help, they stand at freeway exits, hoping for a handout. Should you give them money? Should you circle around and return with food and water?