In his Histories , Herodotus relates a curious anecdote about the Persian king Darius. Gathering a group of Greeks who were presently at his court, the king asked them what they would take to eat the dead bodies of their fathers. They replied that no sum of money would entice them to commit such a . . . . Continue Reading »
Late, but only recently posted: Father George Rutler’s homily for the Mass for the repose of the soul of Richard John Neuhaus on the first anniversary of his death: He is Not Here . It includes: Tonight the risen Christ is offered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the soul of Richard John . . . . Continue Reading »
As a small contribution to ecumenical understanding, on this sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the doctrine of the Assumption in Munificentissimus Deus, here is a section from my book Discovering Mary explaining what the pope said in defining it. It is, let me stress, only a “just . . . . Continue Reading »
On the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Doctrine of the Assumption, a reflection on the dogma , which includes a video of the event. A government agency on the Isle of Wight is now letting girls as young as thirteen get “emergency contraception” and contraceptive pills . . . . Continue Reading »
I recently reported about how a Belgian woman with locked-in syndrome—total quadriplegia with full cognitive capacities caused by brain injury—was euthanized at her request by doctors—who then took her organs pursuant to consent. The idea of coupling euthanasia and organ . . . . Continue Reading »
You are heretics, but it might not be your fault,” begins todays second “On the Square” article, a reflection on the Lutheran-Catholic agreement on justification. In The Skeleton of Genuine Reconciliation , Father David Poecking continues: In decades and centuries past, that . . . . Continue Reading »
If you’ve ever looked at some abstract concept piece and wondered, “How exactly is that art ?” you’ll enjoy this video of abstract artist Arno Coenen trying to explain to his father how his brewing beer can be considered a museum-worthy project. I have to give Arno credit . . . . Continue Reading »
If NPR station manager Caryn Mathes had her way, the upcoming mid-term election would be meaningless. And if President Obama’s pre-election analysis of his party’s troubles is correct, it should be. For America’s governing class, the scariest day of the year isn’t Halloween, but . . . . Continue Reading »
A new report by Gallup finds a significant correlation between well-being and religiosity : The most religious Americans show the highest levels of well-being as measured by factors ranging from physical and emotional health to self-evaluations of life to perceptions of work environment, according . . . . Continue Reading »
As of today the 2011 update of the New International Version Bible is available online here. Will it be accepted by longtime NIV aficionados, or will it suffer the fate of the TNIV? Time with . . . . Continue Reading »