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The Forest and the Tree
As we approach the beginning of the season of Advent, in preparation for the commemoration of the birth of Christ, many of His followers will take the time to engage in communal activities to reflect...
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The Throwaway Bread
Since we’ve been having such nice weather recently, the other day I went to a local cafe for lunch, so that I could sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. I ordered a large bowl of potato and leek soup,...
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A Cool Catholic Nerd: Goodbye, Dave Brubeck
One of the great regrets of my life to date – along with not learning to speak French, which I may still hope to do – is that I never got the chance to see jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, who...
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Steve Nelson: An Appreciation
As many of my regular readers know, earlier this year I was asked to become a regular guest on the Catholic Weekend show on SQPN. Having listened to a number of SQPN shows over the past several years,...
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Ho, Ho, Ho-sanna!
The results of a new survey by the Bible Society (U.K.) on what Britons know about Christmas were published in The Telegraph this morning, and they give us some rather surprising results. For example,...
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What Lies Beneath: Hidden Paintings and Tudor Portraits
If you will be in London between now and June 2nd, make sure you take time to drop by the National Portrait Gallery for a small but fascinating new exhibition, entitled Hidden: Unseen Paintings Beneath...
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Out of His Depth: In Response to Bernard Starr
Ignorance is bliss, so they say, but ignorance presented as wisdom is simply embarrassing. Yesterday psychologist Bernard Starr published a piece in The Huffington Post entitled: “Jesus ‘Used to Be...
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An Unsatisfying Evening
There’s nothing like beginning an evening discussion of contemporary love and sexuality by scandalizing the audience. Last evening’s presentation at the Catholic Information Center here in Washington...
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Thank You, Holy Father
Like much of the world, when I learned that Pope Benedict XVI had decided to abdicate the Throne of St. Peter and retire to a life of prayer, I was initially both shocked and saddened. Almost...
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My Piece for The Catholic Herald (UK): “The Capuchin with a Gentle Heart”
Thanks to the graciousness of Editor Luke Coppen, I was recently asked to write an article about Seán Patrick O’Malley, Cardinal Archbishop of Boston, for The Catholic Herald in the UK. As you may...
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Into the Lions’ Den
If you have been following the news lately then you are aware of a manufactured news story which made national headlines, about the effort by a group of gay marriage activists to remove a Catholic...
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Raising the Art Alarm in Turkey
Recent legal news from Turkey has provoked concern among a number of commentators in both the art world and the Christian world. As reported in several news outlets, such as in this article which...
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Friends in High Places: St. Rita of Cascia
Those of you who read me on a regular basis know that I have a long-standing devotion to St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457). Wife, mother, and after her widowhood and the death of her children an...
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CNMC Boston: More Than A Meeting
With apologies for the admittedly dreadful pun, I want to share with my regular readers that I have been invited to participate in this year’s Catholic New Media Conference (“CNMC”) in Boston. The...
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The Monastic Roots of Western Democracy
Reading a 6th century text is probably not most people’s idea of a good time, but on this Feast of St. Benedict (480-547 A.D.) I want to encourage you, even if you are not Christian, to take a look at...
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The Way of St. James: Suffering, Prayer, Service, and Joy
As many of my readers know, I have not been writing or on social media much over the past week or so due to a serious accident which my friend Thomas Peters, a.k.a. the American Papist, suffered last...
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St. Martha and the Apostolate of Polite Society
Many years ago I recall reading a story about Red Cross volunteers in Britain during the War. As they were being assigned tasks, the society women who had presented themselves were appalled at the...
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Art, Transfigured
Today the Church marks the Feast of the Transfiguration, that moment recounted in the Gospels when Christ briefly revealed His true nature to His three closest disciples, Sts. Peters, James, and John....
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Confessions of a Dominican Fanboy
I’ll admit it: I’m a huge Dominican fanboy. Since I first read the Lives of the Saints when I was little, I have always been drawn to the story of St. Dominic, whose feast day the Church celebrates...
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Lost Habit, Lost Opportunity
A new exhibition at The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Canada, focuses on the artistic contributions of the Sisters of St. Anne, who first arrived in the province from Quebec back in 1858, to the...
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