The Saints We Criticize
These days, when I hear the stories of the outlandish behavior of the saints, the crazy ideas, the bucking of “the way we’ve always done it”, and the harrumphing criticism of the Wise Ones of their day who never recognized the sanctity in their midst, I think of the harrumphing critics of today and the […]
Jesus Died. He Really Died.
Jesus died on Good Friday. No, duh, you reply. Every Christian knows that. But, I insist, He really died. This is the mystery of the God/Man, the divine united to the human. Jesus didn’t simulate death on the cross. He didn’t pretend to be dead. He wasn’t simply comatose or “mostly dead” and waiting for […]
Mass. to spend $1 million per year for 12 jobs
The administration of Mass. Governor Deval Patrick has announced a program whose aim is to get more women in executive positions by funding yearlong graduate fellowships in state government at full salaries. In the first year, they will spend $1 million for 12 women. Yes. $1 million for 12 women. In a state with nearly […]
Texas judge sees “no legitimate reason” to uphold marriage
And so judicial fiat continues to overturn and overrule the will of the people as expressed through direct referendum and legislative action. A federal judge in Texas has struck down the state’s law that upheld the traditional definition of marriage. His reasoning was especially specious, as he claimed that “Texas’ current marriage laws deny homosexual […]
Is Duke right that $60,000 tuition is a bargain?
Duke University is fighting back against the perception that college education is overpriced and a waste of time by claiming that in fact $60,000 per year is a bargain. Yeah, you read that right, a bargain. In fact, they claim that in order to reflect actual costs they should charge $90,000 per year. It makes […]
Book Review: St. Peter’s Bones, by Thomas J. Craughwell
It must be the fact that I was 12 years old when “Raiders of the Lost Ark” came out, but it might also be that I’ve been a National Geographic magazine subscriber since about the same time, but I’ve always been a sucker for archaeology stories, especially those related to a fantastic treasure. The relics […]
Kids, cars, and seatbelts … Surprise!
My children always act like it’s a surprise that when we’re in the car, we’re actually going somewhere. Every time the kids get in the car, my instructions are the same: “Get right in your seats and buckle up. Right away.” Then I continue our usual laborious loading process. By the time I’m in my […]
My 10 Tips and Tricks for Using Evernote
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Evernote, the web service with mobile and computer software for recording everything. I’ve been using it for about six years now and it really has become my second brain, storing everything from receipts to articles clipped from the web to every social media update I post. […]
Media cheerleading for Obama’s executive “actions”
Here’s another prime example of biased reporting on President Obama and his agenda from The New York Times today in this article entitled “Aides Say Obama Is Willing to Work With or Without Congress to Meet Goals”. The piece by Emmarie Huetteman details how Obama plans to use executive orders to bypass Congress in order […]
Catholic social media at the service of a culture of encounter
For Bl. John Paul II, the phrase was “culture of life.” For Pope Benedict XVI, it was “dictatorship of relativism.” But for Pope Francis, the phrase that might just sum up his papacy is “culture of encounter.” That’s the keyphrase we find in his first Message for World Communications Day, which is entitled “Communication at […]