CATHOLIC NEWS: A status report on Haiti: Money flows, leadership lags... PLUS 9 MORE

CATHOLIC NEWS: A status report on Haiti: Money flows, leadership lags... PLUS 9 MORE

Link to New Advent

A status report on Haiti: Money flows, leadership lags

Posted: 12 Mar 2010 07:50 AM PST

While Sean Penn may be splashed across American TV for his relief efforts in Haiti, on the ground easily the most substantial private humanitarian operation belongs to Catholic Relief Services. With a history in Haiti dating back fifty-five years and a staff of 300 even before the most recent crisis, CRS was delivering food...

What I love about Western Christianity

Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST

Regular readers of this blog know how much I appreciate and love the Eastern practice of Christianity: its spirituality, its liturgy and its history. Most of my readers are Western, so I like to point out the many beauties of the East so that Western Christians will appreciate them as well. But I am a Western Catholic, not Eastern, and there are many...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Memorize and Understand Them

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:37 PM PST

Early in my priesthood I began to feel a bit embarrassed that there were certain things I did not know more thoroughly and had not committed to memory. Among these things were the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Seven Gift of the Holy Spirit. Priests are like doctors. Imagine going to a doctor who was...

The Sacramental You've Never Heard Of

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:21 PM PST

By Tim Drake | If you're Catholic, you're familiar with sacramentals such as holy water, holy cards, blessed oils, and medals. However, up until a couple of years ago, I had never before heard of Blessed Salt. After moving to our farmhouse in the country, one of our children was repeatedly having nightmares.

Zmirak responds to Hoopes, Fr. Z does Liturgy Science Theatre 3000

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 12:51 PM PST

There is a bloggy debate going on between Mr. Zmirak and Mr. Hoopes. Rather, it turned into a debate. Zmirak started the ball rolling it with a piece in Inside Catholic. Hoopes responded on the National Catholic Regis ter. I posted a fisk of Hoopes' response.

Blame it on celibacy

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 10:06 AM PST

This just in, from the Austria Desk: The Archbishop of Vienna today said priestly celibacy could be one of the causes of the sex abuse scandals to hit the Catholic church. In an article for Thema Kirche, his diocesan magazine, Christoph Schonborn became the most senior figure in the Catholic hierarchy to make the connection between the two and called for an "unflinchin.

Lights out

Posted: 10 Mar 2010 03:37 PM PST

For Lent, Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley announced an initiative to bring Catholics back to the sacrament of reconciliation. He asked all pastors of the archdiocese to arrange for confessions every Wednesday evening between 6:30 and...

Joemas Gifts: Saintly Treats... and Friday Meats

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 10:09 AM PST

Lest anyone's tempted to think otherwise, be forewarned: your monitor isn't edible. As always, the Green Beer, Irish potatoes -- and, of course, Corned Beef -- of St Paddy's Day might be taking the dominant line as feast-day food goes this time of year...

Eucharist: Wedding Banquet and Pledge of Glory

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:54 AM PST

The Eucharist is Jesus. What we shall receive in Heaven will be full participation, not in something utterly different, but in the very same Jesus we receive in the Eucharist. To be sure, in one sense, everything will be different. Like the Risen Christ, the whole universe will be transfigured and we might not recognize the...

Why Catholicism is the punk rock of religions

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:50 AM PST

If you knew you were going to do die tomorrow what would you do? Call all your loved ones, settle quarrels, forgive and seek forgiveness, go some where or do something you would normally put off... in other words you would LIVE! There's a reason for the popular sayings "live for the moment" or "live like you are dying."