“Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 Jn. 5:20–21). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils; but the Lord made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5). Recently, these verses were cited in a homily by a priest at my local …
Category: Manhood
Assault on Altar Boys: What Have We Done?
One day, following Mass, a Polish man, in his fifties, shared a childhood story with me. It seems that he and his brother were serving Mass with another boy who, to their frustration, was being deliberately unruly and obstinate. The …
St. Hubert and a Catholic Defense of Hunting
Happy St. Hubert’s Day, everyone. By now, we are done with our soul cakes, our Hallowtide jack-o-lanterns, our cemetery visits, parties, and trick-or-treating. The carved pumpkins are getting softer, the candy is wearing out its welcome, and many folks are …
What It Means to Kill and to Die in Our Lady’s Army
Even though Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said the laity would save the Church, many in the laity are acutely aware of their limitations. We can’t elect a pontiff, submit dubia, or run a diocese. In the ongoing civil war between …
Rules for Catholic Radicals
Early Monday morning in Rome, an anonymous group of men entered the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, removed the wooden “Pachamama” idols, and ceremoniously threw them into the Tiber river. Catholics the world over rejoiced, much to the chagrin …
Today’s Catholic ‘Hard Sayings’: Women Should Work Primarily in the Home
“Women,” writes Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum, “are not suited for certain occupations,” for “a woman is by nature fitted for home-work, and it is that which is best adapted at once to preserve her modesty and to promote the …
Letter of a Father to His Son on Prayer and the Christian Life
The following letter was written some years ago by a father to his teenage son, who had asked him for advice about how to pray and how to be a better Christian. When OnePeterFive was given a copy of it, …
On Becoming a Genuine Dad: Pray, Play, and Don’t Worry
“Frankly, this song scares me to death.” —Harry Chapin explaining his song “Cat’s in the Cradle”[i] At the school where I teach, I routinely take my baseball glove and go to the grade five playground at recess. In doing so, …
Fr. Cusick, Women’s Modesty, and Confronting the Mob
Thus reads the tweet heard ’round the world, posted by respected priest and veteran Fr. Kevin M. Cusick: “Ladies, a priest I know was forced on Sunday to ask a woman at Mass to cover her shoulders. Please help the …
The Crisis of Masculinity in the Church
There is a clerical crisis, and everyone knows it. Some say the problem is in Catholicism’s doctrine of an exclusive priesthood, which inculcates a spirit of irredeemable “elitism.” This “sin of clericalism” is but a means to make Catholicism more …