Last night, I got an email from a donor: Did you make your 2015 fundraising goal? I sent a last-minute donation and would to know if you made it. Can’t find the info. The reason the info wasn’t visible is that we archive our fundraisers at the end of each month. We do this so we…
During college, I attended a Melkite Rite parish of mostly Lebanese origin. It was during my time there that I became painfully aware of the persecution of Christians by Islamist extremists throughout the Middle East, especially Syria, which borders Lebanon. Parishioners spoke with startling familiarity of the persecutions which their own acquaintances and even relatives…
Beginning on Christmas Eve, I walked away from the website. I took my wife and children to midnight Mass and stayed up way too late putting presents under the tree while enjoying some excellent bourbon. On Christmas day, we exchanged gifts, then feasted together with those of my siblings and their families who were in town…
As we look back over 2015 — good, bad, and ugly — there’s no question that it’s been quite a year. It’s time for us to withdraw into the peace and joy of the coming of the Christ child, to spend time with friends and family, to feast, to drink good wine, and to play…
It’s that time of year again, when the word “tradition” is heard more often than at a “Fiddler on the Roof” audition. Whether it’s in the music we are subjected to in the mall or choose to listen to on our radio, or the food and treats we make, or the decorations in and around…
Perhaps the most prolific living Catholic author in the English language, Michael O’Brien has been thrilling us with theologically rich and emotionally poignant works of fiction for over twenty years. He recently returned to finish one of his most popular tales – Fr. Elijah – with the sequel, Fr. Elijah in Jerusalem. The short (by…
“Science, it must not be forgotten, lives by hope no less than does religion.” — Rev. Stanley L. Jaki, Catholic Essays (1990), p. 27 Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki, with a foreword by Rev. Dr. Paul Haffner, by Stacy Trasancos (The Habitation of Chimham Publishing Company: Titusville, FL, 2014…
“The Legend of St. Peter Damian” (source) “Stirred up by holy rage, you wrote of such [i.e., sodomitical] clerics according to your judgment; it is appropriate … that we intervene with our apostolic authority so that we might dispel scrupulous uncertainty from the reader, and so that it may be known with certitude by all…
Editor’s note: We are selective about who we allow to advertise on 1P5. We sell our ads directly, vetting each potential partner and business owner to make sure that they fit with our values and are offering quality products and services to our audience. As a thank you to these Catholic business owners and service providers, we have…
Have you been waiting until the 11th hour to do your Christmas shopping? Finding it hard to pick out just the right gift for that person in your life who would appreciate something truly unique? We asked our contributors to recommend a few of their favorite things – and we told them it would be…
One hallmark of a well-written book is its timelessness. Certainly over time, the jargon and anecdotes of the text will appear antiquated, but its argument will still resonate long after its publication. I picked up Dean Kelley’s 1972 book, Why Conservative Churches are Growing, to help me understand a paradox facing the Episcopal Church. Their…
