Michael Pakaluk
The Lives of Christian Moms
When I taught CCD, I used to tell my kids, ‘If everybody else is doing it, it’s probably wrong.’ The Christian life is difficult. The truth is difficult.” So said Kelley (as we may call her) when I interviewed her, in January 1999, a few…
The Mother of God, Virgin in the Act of Giving Birth
Did the Virgin Mary suffer the trauma of labor and its pains? Not a few preachers at Christmas Mass speak as if Mary did. But a long tradition in the Church presents a very different picture. First, what does Scripture say? “She gave birth to…
A Book That Will Shock You – Religion & Liberty Online
Dr. Michael Pakaluk, a philosopher and professor at the Catholic University of America, has written 11 books, but somehow this was the first to make it into my hands. Pakaluk is a bit of a legend in certain circles. He maintains a scholarly…
The Greatest Advent Hymn – The Catholic Thing
Anyone who prays the Divine Office will say the Benedictus each morning, as it is the closing hymn of Lauds (Morning Prayer). It’s also called “The Canticle of Zechariah,” the father of John the Baptist, who sang the Benedictus (“Blessed be…
Of IVF and the Full Gospel of Life
President Trump recently announced measures to expand access to and reduce costs associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is being billed as a pro-family and pro-life effort to help “American families have more babies.” While the…
Pope Leo XIV, St. John Paul II, and the Fertility Crisis
Pope Leo XIV has joined the chorus of those lamenting the implosion of global fertility levels. Speaking after a visit with the President of Italy, the Pope urged action to implosion of fertility and the collapse of childbearing. Encouragingly,…
Itching for New Foundations – The Catholic Thing
Ask an educated Catholic what the two leading teachings of Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum are, and, if he knows anything at all about this foundational text of modern Catholic social teaching, he will likely say that it endorses labor…