Catholics are expected to go to confession at least once a year. Maybe a good New Years resolution we should resolve to do at least that, but also to try to attend more frequently. Here are - things to remember about making a good confession. Examine Your Conscience - The first thing to remember about confession [...]
Slaughter of the Innocents - Leon Cogniet Invariably the Memorial of Holy Innocents gets swamped with post-Christmas celebrations. We've got a house to clean up, kids to amuse, relatives to visit, gifts to return AND most of us are supposed to get back to work. Priests usually take a few days off. At our parish [...]
Will the atheist cynics and Protestant scoffers never cease with the old canard that Catholicism is simply old paganism in a new dress? These critics notice similarities between certain Roman Catholic customs and the old Roman religion and snipe that our faith is no more than paganism with a face lift. “Christmas!” they cry, “your [...]
One of the websites I write for is The Imaginative Conservative, and if I have to take any kind of label, then it would be "conservative". I'm conservative because, by instinct and upbringing I'd rather put my energies into conserving the best from the past rather than innovating for the future. Somebody has to do it. [...]
I was thinking the other day about the secularists' shock and horror at racism. I think I had just seen some progressives screaming about racism and accusing old white men (and everybody else they didn't like) of being racist. It got me thinking about why this is such a big deal. Don't get me wrong. I [...]
Pope Francis' latest scold is against clericalism. You can read about it here. He makes good points and it is clear that he is addressing the situation in Latin America. However, there is another side to the coin. It is certainly easy to criticize priests who dominate the church and get all high and mighty. We [...]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/frdj1zb9sMY[/youtube] This week Rogue One--another Star Wars movie hits the box office, and it is probably going to take off just like the others. What's the secret of their success? The aficionados of the Star Wars movies are religious in their passion for the films. I realize it was a spoof, but in 2012 the census [...]
A Detroit newspaper published this slap to Pope Francis accusing him of insulting young Catholics who like the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Millennials are leaving religion in droves, recent surveys find. Churches are roiled, but it appears Pope Francis isn’t worried he may accelerate the exodus. The “Who am I to judge?” pope recently told an interviewer that [...]
Francis and Fidel Remember when the secular Catholic hating media started crowing about Pius XII being "Hitler's Pope"? Funny how they thought it was wonderful when Popes JP2, B16 and Francis all paid a visit to Cuba and knocked on Castro's door. History is now showing that Pope Pius XII put up stout resistance [...]
OK. I admit it, and I'm sure every other priest will admit it too. We get bored in the confessional. Don't get me wrong. I am not bored by people. I love people and am endlessly fascinated by people. People aren't boring. Their problems aren't boring. But sin is boring. Really. To be honest, there really [...]