The Church is in the midst of a battle between warring ideologies in the secular and ecclesiastical courts. One combatant is a certain confederation of groups that push for the normalization of homosexuality in the Church and the redefining of …
To Love Fasting
I decided to become Catholic in February 1992, a week before Lent started. Naturally, I was excited about my life as a Catholic, and I wanted to dive in headfirst. With Ash Wednesday approaching, I contemplated what I should “give …
In Defense of Ignorance of the Pope
I grew up with a deep affection for the pope. My childhood featured Pope John Paul II, and my siblings and I learned to love and appreciate him for being a bold defender of the Catholic faith. Indeed, the pope’s …
Cotton-Candy Catholicism
If you played football in school, you might remember a little drill call “the gauntlet.” The team lines up in two rows facing each other, trying to smack the ball out of the hands of whoever runs between them. Awaiting …
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 …
More than Ever, the World Wants You in Hell. Resist!
“And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened.” —Matthew 24:22 Do you enjoy sins of the flesh? Are you greedy? Do you believe in …
Blaise Pascal: The Grandeur and Misery of Man
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), in addition to being among the widely acknowledged geniuses of the human race, was one of the most eminent modern apologists for the Christian faith. In an era such as ours that denigrates both rationality, man’s distinctive …
Happy Catholics Don’t Make the Pope More than He Is
A one-year-old blog known as “Where Peter Is” — a sort of inverse image of OnePeterFive — features writing from ardent defenders of Pope Francis. Recognizing that Catholicism is inherently a religion of Tradition, the blog avoids the awkwardness of …
Cardinal Dolan’s Frustrations, and Ours
I have no reason or standing to question Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s motives or intentions — he seems like a good man following the dictates of his conscience, and I humbly defer to the authority attendant to him and his office. …
Marie Kondo Tidies Up. So Must the Church.
America has ideologically given way to a 4’7” Japanese woman. Marie Kondo is all the rage today. She has influenced the American families she has consulted to purge themselves of their belongings, in search for a deeper inner life. Influenced …
