The Life of Virtue

A young man walked toward his classroom at the local university this morning.  He wore a t-shirt emblazoned with a message that was both shocking and revelatory: "Make Love Not Babies."  (Not kidding.  Such a piece of apparel really exists , in multiple locations, colors, and fonts.)  That single phrase proved much about our present culture; more than the designer probably ever intended. The essence of the problem is that modern American culture has had generations to perfect the vice of lust, and so has had to move on to bigger, deadlier "adventures."  Modern American culture has added pride and selfishness to its previous vice.  We now live in a culture built on the sand foundation of personal convenience.  Nowhere is this truth more visible than in many people's attitudes toward bringing new life into this world. To think that "love" and babies are mutually exclusive does more than destroy our human race and objec...

President Obama's issued an executive order yesterday.  This particular order lifted "restrictions on federally financed human embryonic stem cell research." The outcome of the lessened restrictions will certainly be that Congress considers the use of taxpayers' dollars to fund the pseudo-science. With a simple stroke of his pen, our president has placed himself, Congress, and possibly our country, inside the reach of grave evil.  There is not another way to describe it: his executive order will almost certainly lead to the exploitation and destruction of human life, something that can never be considered good . During prayerful reflection over the past two days, the apparent evil in this situation has become crystal clear.  Let us consider the course of events from this point forward. Congress considers the use of taxpayers' (many of whom abhor the idea of embryonic stem cell research) dollars to fund the "beneficial" research. Con...

Mark Shea has a wonderful new article on Catholic Exchange about Catholics and their study of Sacred Scripture.  As a novice Scripture scholar myself, I find his thoughts affirmative and informative.  Thanks, Mark!

It seems that there is never enough time to accomplish all that I would like.  Because I am not God, and thus cannot create additional time in each day, I must continually rely on a simple axiom in order to remain productive and sane.  I make sure that I put "first things first;" that I "keep the most important things the most important things."  Prioritization often means that I don't get to do the things I'd "like" to do (such as write brilliant essays), but that I do accomplish the necessary tasks (like family dinner, household chores, paper-grading, and "Go, Diego, Go"). In recent weeks, I have been blessed to begin cultivating a true Marian devotion, specifically through recitation of the Holy Rosary.  During that time, I have been granted unusual clarity regarding the ways that certain mysteries of the Rosary are applicable to my life.  One such nugget of wisdom has come through several meditations on the Fi...