As I write this, I have two boys outside pretending to repair a tree. For those who do not know boy-speak, to repair a tree is simply an excuse to hook a rope on a branch and pully the younger …
Category: Manhood
Our Forgotten Father: Joseph, the Silent Saint
Our world has never needed a father more than now. Our shepherds are not merely absent to their spiritual children, but also often part of the pack of wolves devouring souls. Many young people are tragically confused about their sexual …
How Protestants’ Assault on Mary Dismantled Society
Since the Fall of Man, men and women have been locked in a contest of power. Instead of the order of humility and charity created by God, Adam and Eve chose pride and rebellion against God and each other. Pride …
Responding to the Call for the Church to Bless Same-Sex Relationships
This is a question many Catholics (including clergy) are asking, and this topic has contributed to the revealing of an obvious divide among the people of the Church (which is different from the Church as the Spotless Bride of Christ …
Beating Vocations Away, and Sensible Things Left Unsaid
Consider a young man kneeling devoutly in a quiet church. He strives to be chaste, pious, well catechized, strong, and healthy. It seems that all his life, he has desired to please God. But something is distressing him. The young …
Same-Sex Attraction and a Different Kind of Bridge
Editor’s note: This article comes to 1P5 via an anonymous Catholic, whose identity we are protecting at the author’s request. In these confusing times, when so many voices are vying for attention and claiming to give answers to important questions, …
Criticizing the Pope: Be Courageous and Also Charitable
“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 …
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 …