(Cumberland Island, GA, 2020)I've spent a relaxing afternoon on my day of rest in my favorite local coffee shop with the latest issue of First Things. Louise Perry, the author of The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, herself not a believer, and a self-described agnostic on abortion, but clearly discomfited by it, writes of what is at stake in this particular debate of the "culture war." Citing ..read more

 And after that the Lord gave me brothers (St. Francis of Assisi, Testament, 1226)"It is important for priests not to live off on their own somewhere, in isolation, but to accompany one another in small communities, to support one another, and so to experience, and constantly realize afresh, their communion in service to Christ and in renunciation for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven" (Pope ..read more

(resumen en español abajo) In my homily for the First Sunday of Advent, I expounded on the fact that the Lord says He will come like a thief, and I paraphrased the following story about St. Therese: During the last couple of years of her life, as she was dying of tuberculosis, she began to relate to Jesus as “Le Voleur,” the “thief,” more and more. She wanted to help the thief steal her heart ..read more

I  The 27th Conference of Parties of the UNFCC (“COP27”) begins today at Sharm-al-Shaikh in Egypt. As Catholics, the Holy Father has asked us to pay attention to the issue of climate change, because of its impact on human beings, human society, and human flourishing. I.e. it is something that concerns the moral sphere of analysis and action. Climate change is a global problem with grave ..read more

The stairs at the end of the Braccio di ConstantinoI wanted to title this post: "I attended Latin Mass with Pope Francis," but figured it would be too click-baity. :-) But, yes, it was a Mass largely in Latin, celebrated by (well, sort of), Pope Francis. And if I'd written "I concelebrated Latin Mass with Pope Francis," that would give it away -- that this was, of course, a Novus Ordo Mass, and ..read more

 Philip Jenkins wrote The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity twenty years ago, and the slowly changing demographics of the College of Cardinals reflects the shift in the center of gravity (as far as number of believers, but also spiritual vitality and strength) of the Christian world to the global South. This visit to Rome afforded an opportunity to get a sense of the life of the ..read more

 Mosaic in side altar. Chapel, Pontifical Urban College The new Cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his Church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters, even unto shedding their blood, if necessary, as expressed in the words of placing the biretta and as indicated by the colour of their robes.(Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI at the ..read more

 August 15, 2022, is the seventy fifth anniversary of India's (and Pakistan's, on the 14th) independence. I should say "15 August," following the normal British and Indian convention for dating. Pandrah Agast in Hindi (15 August), means, simply, Independence Day. Vadodara airport festooned with the Indian tricolor. 2017.During my recent trip to the Subcontinent, signs marking the upcoming ..read more

 I'm serving as a Chaplain this week at one of FOCUS's "Summer Projects" locations -- in Big Sky, MT. As part of the summer, the students get to attend talks by different speakers. This week at Big Sky, there was a talk by Kim Zember. She shared her powerful testimony of growing up Catholic, discovering her attraction to women, living that out, and her reversion as an adult, and finding healing ..read more

 In June I wrote a post about the contents of the  State of Georgia's "Heartbeat bill" (which was allowed to go into effect by the 11th Circuit on July 20). Yesterday, the Georgia Department of Revenue issued a ruling on some provisions of HB481, which recognizes the personhood of a human fetus, from after the detection of cardiac activity. Here's the relevant bit: As such, on individual income ..read more