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December 2016

December 21, 2016

I Don’t Believe in Sky Daddy Either

Blogging for Patheos, you meet a lot of atheists. In fact, if you're on the...

December 20, 2016

The Lord is a Child at Christmastime

All right, NOW it's Christmas. I know, it's still Advent, but seriously: Christmas. I just...

December 19, 2016

Why Were You Gone So Long?

There was a hard frost outside this morning. All the puddles from the weekend's rain...

December 09, 2016

All Who Love Nicholas the Saintly

I asked Saint Nicholas to be my father. It wasn't really necessary. All saints are...

November 2016

November 30, 2016

Taking Back the Turkey: A Lesson in Empathy and Charity

My mother and her friends were sipping coffee together after their daily Rosary. They were...

November 29, 2016

Joe and Mr. Rashid: An Annotated Interreligious Dialogue

Don't you just hate it when a non-Christian gives a better Christian witness than someone...

November 20, 2016

Snow on Roses

October is the most colorful month in the Ohio Valley. The trees blaze up before...

November 19, 2016

The Knee Brace, The Imam and the Great Commandment

Take a look at this video: I know, I know. It's a commercial. It's meant...

November 15, 2016

Cry of the Captives

Yesterday I went down to the Friendship Room to visit with Molly. I brought my...

November 09, 2016

Aftermath of the Election: What Do We Do Now?

I didn't watch the Returns last night. I watched an old video of Bob...

November 07, 2016

It’s Just Clear Blood, I Promise

There was no need for Father Vasyl to apologize, let alone apologize twice. The whole...

November 06, 2016

Jerusalem to Jericho

Last night at the anticipation Divine Liturgy, we heard the gospel of the Good...

November 05, 2016

Final Notes Before You Vote

Please read this statement from the most reverend Bishop Robert McElroy: Catholic teaching points to...

November 01, 2016

Saints Look Up: A Meditation for All Saints’ Day

When I was a girl, I had several appropriately dull little books telling short hagiographies...

October 2016

October 29, 2016

Charity Is Our Only Hope

(image via Pixabay) Here's another update from our friends at The Friendship Room: "the rich...

October 20, 2016

Why Do We Presume The Poor Are Stupid?

(image via Pixabay) Almost six years ago now, I went down to the pro-life crisis...

October 19, 2016

A Triumph and a Requiem

(image via Pixabay) I'd finally kept my promise to my daughter. We were going to...

October 18, 2016

CFS From a Bystander’s Viewpoint

(Image via Pixabay.) It seems I can't shut up today. The article everyone is noticing...

October 17, 2016

Stop And Reverence These Icons With Me

(image via Wikimedia Commons) Stop what you're doing for a moment, and gaze on some...

October 10, 2016

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place

(image via Pixabay) I couldn't get a ride to the Byzantine Catholic church. I decided to...

October 07, 2016

When You Wake Up Crying

(image via Pixabay) He used to stand by the driveway to the abortion clinic, in...

October 05, 2016

They Finally Said the A-Word

I watched the Vice Presidential debate last night. I'm still not sure why I did...

October 02, 2016

Saint Therese and the Speckled Toadstool

(image via Pixabay) My name is Therese of Lisieux. That's not the name people call...

October 01, 2016

A Work of Mercy for Baby Joseph

(image via Pixabay) If anyone would like to help the family of Baby Joseph...

September 2016

September 30, 2016

Old Scratch and the Wal Mart Ressurrection

(image via Pixabay) It was a couple of years ago now, in Autumn. I'd just...

September 20, 2016

If I Had A Bowl Of Skittles…

(image via Pixabay) Let me give you the boilerplate again: Steel Magnificat does not endorse...

September 15, 2016

Stop Blaming Saint Augustine

I've seen a quote circulating online: "The truth is like a lion. You don't have...

September 14, 2016

Why the Cross? A Meditation for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Why the Cross? Oh, so many reasons. I couldn't tell you them all. Ask me...

September 11, 2016

The Only Way to Make Good Happen

(Image: firefighters outside the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, via Wikimedia Commons) My almost-five-year-old daughter...

September 09, 2016

Damaged Icon: Revisiting Brock Turner

(Severely damaged icon of the Theotokos, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Somehow, I missed the news...