Is it legitimate to call Mary the ‘Mother of God’? Some Christians reject the title, saying it implies that God himself somehow has his origin in Mary. How could the Creator of all things, who depends on no one else for his existence, possibly have a ‘mother’? To understand why Christians have called Our Lady…
While praying in our pew after Communion during a recent Sunday Mass, our 6-year-old son decided to administer a pop quiz to his willing little sister. “What was the first tabernacle?” he asked. “I have no idea,” she replied. “Mary, of course! Her tummy held Jesus for the first time,” he answered. “But what was…
The Church’s view of life as a gift informs its view of the practice of surrogacy, writes Maria Wiering “The gift of life which God the Creator and Father has entrusted to man calls him to appreciate the inestimable value of what he has been given and to take responsibility for it.” So begins the…
Bill Dodds On their wedding day, a bride and groom may have stars in their eyes, but they have rocks in their heads if they think their partner isn’t going to: Drive them nuts. Sometimes. Take them for granted. On occasion. Do something that truly hurts them. Once in a while. Husband does it…
Fr Patrick Briscoe OP Sometimes you hope to be wrong. For example: A good friend that I made in college seminary discerned out of formation and began to pursue a relationship with a young woman. I didn’t think they were a match. I told him as much. (Graciously, he did not end our friendship…
Expect your marriage to change following the growth of your family, writes Simcha Fisher Ever have one of those days when you lose the hamburger you were defrosting and find it later in the washing machine, full of soap? And you can deal with that, but you cannot deal with being accused of leaving the…
Elizabeth Scalia You have no idea how many of my columns have begun as a germ of a thought – usually an annoyed question – scribbled on a scrap of paper. This one reflects my late, rather curmudgeonly, “wish list” of what I’d like to see happen within Catholicism in 2024. Indulge me, please. Let…
Fr Patrick Briscoe OP In August 2022, when Transformers star Shia LaBeouf revealed during a conversation with Bishop Robert Barron that he had experienced a conversion and begun to attend Mass, I wrote that LaBeouf seemed to me to have undergone a genuine change of heart. He spoke regretfully of the pain and harm he…
The liturgical calendar is a spiritually transformative tool of the Church, writes Chene Heady The liturgical calendar is omnipresent in Catholic life. Many parish bulletins list the liturgical days of the week and corresponding Scripture readings. In December, tables in the narthex may be piled high with free calendars that identify the principal feasts of…
Gretchen Crowe Our sweetest not-such-a-baby anymore turns 20 months old this month. Like any proud mama, I could write an entire column on John Francis’s adorable qualities, like his propensity to silly dance anytime he catches a whiff of a beat, or how he quacks at anything that has wings, including, lately, the angels in…