The Life of Virtue

Maybe I'm the last one to mention it, but Archbishop Raymond Burke needs much affirmation that his decision was the right one. Yesterday, he resigned from the board of directors of a Catholic hospital that is inviting a pro-abortion celebrity to perform at a fundraiser. ( Click here for the news report.) Actions such as this, by bishops like him, are necessary if our nation is to be released from the jaws of the Culture of Death. Let us pray that all bishops will exercise the courage they received in Confirmation to confront such atrocities against the dignity of EVERY human life. Let us also pray that other religious leaders will join in our defense of innocent human beings. God Bless.

What an amazing testimony about the culmination of Christian initiation ! This woman made her way from an anti-Christian atheist to a devout Catholic in just a few years. I urge you to read her story and, if you feel led, to give her an abundance of encouragement that she did make the right decision to come home (something I'm sure she already knows). As I read her story, I was reminded of my own reception into the Catholic Church just over three years ago. I, too, remember feeling that I was home. I also remember what it was like to begin living my Catholic life over the next several months. So, I would like to share a letter that I wrote to several friends during the summer of 2004. It was entitled "My First Hundred Days." To all who are interested, this is another edition of my thoughts on faith and spirituality. This one is particularly special to me; and I hope that some of you might learn something that you did not know before. As the subject line of this emai...

As a scholar of the United States Constitution, I am joyful that the Supreme Court has begun to restrain the advances of the Culture of Death. Although their recent opinion only outlawed the use of partial-birth abortion (except in cases where the mother's health is in jeopardy), a small victory is worth celebrating. Let us all celebrate the sanctity of EVERY human life, born and unborn. Let us pray that this ruling is the first in a line of rulings that will eventually overturn the tragedy of American law and culture that is Roe v. Wade . Click here to read the press release from Catholic World News. God Bless.

Instead of being identical to my patron... You’re Tertullian! You possess many gifts, but patience isn’t one of them. You’re tough on yourself — and on others. You’re independent, too, and you don’t like to be told what to do. You wish the Church would be a little tighter in discipline. As for the pagans, you’ve pretty much written them off. Sometimes you think the Church would be a better place if you were in charge. <a href=" Find'>http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/quiz/">Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers ! I guess I'll have to add him to my "To Read List." I hope you all have as much fun as I did taking the quiz!

Happy Easter, my fellow Christians! Isn't it amazing that Our Lord loves us to suffer and die FOR US, and then He overcame death FOR US! Think about it. Nothing that He did during His life, and certainly not during His Passion and Death, was for Himself. First and foremost, Jesus' words and actions were for the greater glory of the Father. Secondly, everything He said and did, up to and including the Resurrection, was intended to grant us access to eternal life with the Father. He wanted (and wants) us to share what He has had for all eternity. So, during this Octave of Easter and the blessed Easter season, let us remember to be eternally grateful that death has been overcome for us. That, of course, is why we celebrate! To further illustrate my point, check out Pope Benedict's Easter Message . Pray that the Resurrected Christ will pour out His eternal Love upon this world and all who dwell in it. God Bless.

The Catholic Word of the Week for this week: TYPOLOGY . Typology, you ask? Fr. Alfred McBride defines it as the "recognition of persons, places, or things in the Old Testament as types to be fulfilled in Christ...." Quite simply it means being able to see Christ in the Old Testament prophecies, even when He is not specifically mentioned. Example of types of Christ in the Old Testament include Adam, the high priest Melchizedek, and many more. The Great Flood and the parting of the Red Sea were types of the Sacrament of Baptism, which kills sin and offers us protection from slavery to further sin. The manna that fed the Israelites as they wandered the desert was a type of the Eucharist, which feeds the faithful as they journey toward the true Promised Land. Fr. McBride continues: "Typology demonstrates the unity of God's plan of salvation seen in Scripture." Indeed, one and the same Word is spoken throughout all of Sacred Scripture: Jesus Christ, the Eternal W...

For the last several days, I have been looking for a Psalm of praise to pray during my time in front of the the Blessed Sacrament. I have even been wondering why my desire to praise God was not being met. My wonderings and minor frustrations proved misguided, as usual. Today, the Lord provided His in the form of the Responsorial Psalm during today's Mass. I feel like such an untrusting fool! Nonetheless, I prayed that Psalm as though I had never praised God before. I hope that some of you might pray it, too, to glorify our Creator. I love you, Lord, my strength, Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold! Praised be the Lord, I exclaim! I have been delivered from my enemies. The breakers of death surged round about me; the menacing floods terrified me. The cords of Sheol tightened; the snares of death lay in wait for me. In my distress I called out: Lord! I cried out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice;...