2026
Simeon’s Prophesy v. The Blob
And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted. (Luke 2:34) By 1973, there’d been one papal trip to the U.S. –…
For God and Country – Or for Myself?
I recently discovered All Creatures Great and Small, a 1930s-set British comedy-drama chronicling a trio of veterinarians working in rural Yorkshire. In the latest episode that I watched, Great Britain declares war on Nazi Germany and the draft…
John Paul II and our Elder (Jewish) Brothers
Forty years ago, Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome. He was the first bishop of Rome to visit a synagogue (though presumably Peter, at least, made an appearance now and again). John Paul’s visit, so pregnant…
The Politics of Shill – The Catholic Thing
The pope may be many things in many contexts, but he should avoid becoming a shill for the Democratic Party. This is how he came across when he delivered a political statement just after he had been visited by David Axelrod, Obama’s…
A Man in Opposition: Remembering St. Magnus
Today marks the death, over nine centuries ago, of St. Magnus, a jarl or earl of Orkney, those windswept isles off the coast of mainland Scotland. His holy life is recounted in the Orkneyinga Saga, which captures, in spare and forceful language,…
On a Darkling Plain – The Catholic Thing
I’ve been in Lisbon and, the past few days, Rome presenting translations of my recent book The Martyrs of the New Millennium. It’s encouraging that Christians in Europe are starting to realize the virulence and extent of anti-Christian acts…
Crossing Yourself When You Enter the Church
Many readers here likely witnessed Baptisms recently, especially if they went to the Easter Vigil Mass. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we seem to have been blessed with a good number of Baptisms this year. Let’s pray that this undeserved gift…
Evelyn Waugh’s America – The Catholic Thing
This month makes 60 years since the death of the British author Evelyn Waugh, known both for his superb satires on the modern world and his ability to communicate the beauty and goodness of Catholicism. So, a sharp irony marked his life. Satire…
Mercy’s Wondrous Exchange – The Catholic Thing
John Paul II died on the night of April 2, 2005. It was Easter Saturday and thus the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday. One could hardly imagine a more fitting moment for him to go to the house of the Father. Almost five years earlier, on April 30,…
The Dignity of Work in Catholic Social Thought
Catholic social teaching sees work not as a burden to be engineered away, but as a central part of life wherein the human person is formed. From Genesis to Laborem exercens, the Church teaches that work’s dignity lies not in how new or…