On July 2nd, 1776, the American Continental Congress voted for independence from Great Britain, setting in motion a chain of events that would give birth to the United States. The next day, John Adams, founding father and future president, wrote to his wife Abigail: “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in…
Some days, the words don’t want to come. Some days I sit, fingers poised above the keyboard, staring with a growing sense of panicked futility, willing myself to fill the empty page. There’s so much going on, but I have moments when I just don’t want to face it. To read the news is to submit to…
It did seem as though many of the Synod fathers were proposing something that is logically impossible. It was not said out loud, but the implication was that they were asking, “Between yes and no, being and not being, sin and not sin, death and life, can we have a ‘third’ option? And if so,…
“Because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) In one of his parables, Our Lord Jesus Christ tells of the great feast and of the guests assembled for the banquet. One man, thinking himself of some importance, took his seat among the higher places.…
Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of a 2013 article anticipating the trend toward today’s Supreme Court decision. We present it for your consideration as discussion of this issue continues. Again and again, gay marriage advocates come to the debate insisting that marriage is a fundamental civil right, which begs the question. This assumption would…
“If, even as the price to be paid for a fifth vote, I ever joined an opinion for the Court that began: “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity,” I would hide my…
When I got our website hosting bill this month, I was a little surprised. Our current plan will accommodate up to 100,000 visitors a month, but we were charged nearly double the usual amount. When I looked at our stats, I saw why: we had 178,577 people visit 1P5 during the past 30 days. To put that…
In the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost, Christ initiates the ministry of the apostles by way of a miracle: And it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen…
Over the past few months, I have made several unsuccessful attempts to write new articles on a variety of topics. In one, I attempted to argue how Kasper’s thesis is actually condescending and an attack on the nobility of the human soul. In another, I attempted to analyze the prophecies of Bl. Elena Aiello in…
For the unfamiliar, the various forms of papal teaching can at times be confusing. Apostolic letters, motu proprios, exhortations, constitutions; papal bulls and decrees; conciliar documents; homilies, speeches, interviews, and Wednesday audiences…there’s quite a list, and each have their own place within the hierarchy of Magisterial thought and authority. For modern Catholics, the most familiar form…
In the months after 9/11, some commentators noted that the tragedy brought America out of the false sense of peace it had enjoyed since the end of the Cold War. With the fall of the Soviet Union, many Americans had come to believe that the era of opposing hostile forces had ended, and consequently, our focus…
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