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January 2019

January 27, 2019

What is a Monster?

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. A few...

January 27, 2019

Return to Nazareth

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: Jesus returned to Galilee in...

January 25, 2019

As I Watch an Empty Podium

As I write this, we are waiting for an address from the president which...

January 23, 2019

My Thoughts on the Reported National Basilica Invasion

Early yesterday I was naively thinking: let's pretend a Catholic priest who happened to...

January 14, 2019

They Had Heard No Thunder

My mother had a lurid fascination with apparitions. Most every Catholic I knew was...

January 10, 2019

Whose Altar? Which Lord?

I was reading a Bible passage from the first book of Kings the other day....

January 01, 2019

Where He May be Found

I met a man named Buster, who looked like Jesus. No, I actually did....

December 2018

December 31, 2018

To Whoever Gave Recalled Food to the Homeless

I saw a public status on Facebook from my friends at the Friendship Room...

December 28, 2018

Glory to the Exiles

There used to be a fascinating museum, in a defunct Catholic school in the...

December 23, 2018

O Emmanuel

The O antiphon for December 23rd: O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio Gentium, et...

December 19, 2018

O Clavis David

The O Antiphon for December 20th: O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis,...

December 08, 2018

No, Dr. Marshall, Gingerbread is not Effeminate

On today's episode of What Public Catholics are Angry About Now: Dr. Taylor Marshall is...

December 02, 2018

In Infamy

I'm going to teach my first-grader about World War Two. We're listening to Tomie DePaola's...

November 2018

November 29, 2018

The Journey of the Unwise Magi

The Friendship Room posts their needs online almost daily. They recently asked if anyone...

November 27, 2018

Migrants, Conspiracies and a Facebook Racist

I met a racist, as one sometimes does, on my facebook wall. He commented on...

November 24, 2018

A Parade, a Kiss, and a Longing for the Beautiful

Thanksgiving. I've been wanting to write something Thanksgiving-themed all week but I got so...

November 19, 2018

What NOT to do When Someone is Having a Panic Attack

I just saw a nightmare of a meme that had been widely shared on...

November 12, 2018

Let it be an Ordinary Day

Have you ever found yourself in a museum, when you were terribly anxious? Anxiety...

November 08, 2018

Trump is Doing the Monkey Dance

Well, it's gotten a bit dicey around here. I was feeling moderately hopeful right up...

November 05, 2018

One More Word Before You Vote

I need to talk to my fellow Catholics right before they go vote....

November 03, 2018

My Pro-Life Vote This Year

"A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present...

October 2018

October 29, 2018

Chaos and Conviction in the Neighborhood

I apologize for the recent silence; have been exceptionally sick for a week-- for...

September 2018

September 11, 2018

Establishing Shot of a Nightmare

It's that day again. It's the seventeenth anniversary of the bloodiest day on American...

August 2018

August 30, 2018

To Choke on the Word “Holy”

I sat in the pew by myself. Rose had asked permission to stand in...

August 29, 2018

For a Moment, it was All About the Victims

I am glad that everyone finally believes in sexual abuse. This is a new...

August 17, 2018

What About the Girls?

There have been a plethora of predictably awful responses to this week's horrendous news...

August 15, 2018

Sanctissima: Meditations on a Dark Assumption Day

We got to Mass just on time. That's a rarity, bus routes being what they...

August 14, 2018

Better the Millstone: On the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report

I'm at a loss for words. I'm a professional writer, I write 800-2000 words...

August 06, 2018

Clericalism and Priestly Abuse: What do the Laity do Now?

I have some very difficult things to say in response to the United States...

July 2018

July 24, 2018

The Swallow and the Glass Door

We had a real working fireplace, at the house I grew up in. Not a...