Sister Mary Lucy was a Poor Clare nun who suffered greatly. She lost her eyesight and had a degenerative bone disease which caused her spine to crumble. The doctors could do very little to help her. I used to visit her regularly, but never once heard her complain. Instead she had a huge radiant smile. I [...]
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed a seemingly profound, but ultimately silly discussion which is prevalent within popular culture. It’s called the Fermi Paradox and it goes like this: “There are billions of stars out there like the sun. Therefore, statistically there must be billions of planets like earth where intelligent life has developed. Given the [...]
The other day I saw a snarky comment about the legend of St Patrick casting all the snakes out of Ireland: "Thing is" said snarker "Ireland never had any snakes anyway. The climate is too damp and cold. Duh." Duh indeed. The legend was never about snakes anyway. It was about serpents--meaning Satan and the demons. [...]
As a convert you come across some unusual practices within the Catholic faith (said he, making the understatement of the year) One of them for me was to find that there was a feast day for a chair. What was I–poor Bob Jones graduate that I was–to make of such an odd celebration? There it was [...]
T.S.Eliot was baptized in 1927 and turned away from a life in the wasteland of modern atheism, decadence and despair His new found Christian faith inspired his great poem of repentance--Ash Wednesday. Go here to read the poem, and even better, click here to listen to Eliot himself reading the poem. The poem, like most of [...]
I had met James during my seminary days in Oxford and he and I were ordained as Anglican priests at the same time and went to nearby parishes in Sussex. I have always had to have my arm twisted to take vacations, and this was no exception. James was planning a trip to India and wanted [...]
I'm often surprised at the number of good, faithful Catholics who are well informed about their faith, who do not understand the doctrine of transubstantiation. In my experience they fall into two categories. The first do not believe the Eucharist is anything more than a symbol. The second believe the bread and wine become the Body [...]
It's pretty clear in the gospel isn't it? Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This sounds clear: "Jesus is the only way to God." When you combine this with the teaching in the third chapter of John's gospel the message is even [...]
Do you believe in ghosts? C.S.Lewis said he only met one woman who had ever seen a ghost and she said afterwards she didn't believe in ghosts. It illustrates that perceiving is not believing. I read an article not long ago claiming that sightings of ghosts, demons, werewolves, black beasts and monsters of all kinds are higher [...]
I'm convinced that I am a little bit insane. ("Only a little bit?" I hear you say) Not only that, I'm really convinced that almost everybody else is. However, let me define my terms. By 'insane' I don't mean bat-shit crazy, eye rolling drooling insane. Instead I mean that we do not have a total grip on reality. [...]