Faithful Friday: Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr was an early Christian apologist, born about the year 100 AD. He was a student of philosophy and was converted circa 130 AD in part by the witness of martyrs going joyfully to their deaths.
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Pre-Existing Conditions
The topic of trust came up the other day when one of the prisoners I visit each week remarked on the challenge of knowing how to find reliable information about the Virus-of-Many-Names.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Augustine of Canterbury
Nothing is known of the youth of the Apostle to the English. What we do know is that he was born sometime in the sixth century and was probably upper-class Roman. He was close friends with Pope Gregory the Great, and his mission to Britain was by the Pope’s specific request…
Read MoreOf Tales and Theatre
With the ongoing direction of turning Disney’s cartoon classic movies into live action adaptations, some that work, others that don’t, many seem to forget that live action fairy tales were the norm when Disney was doing animated movies. One of these was a mini series put together and hosted by Shelley Duvall; another was put together and hosted by Shirley Temple.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Lydia of Philippi
Lydia of Philippi is one of the comparatively few women mentioned by name in the Acts of the Apostles, but very little is known about her. Acts 16:11ff tells us that Lydia sold purple cloth, that she was from Thyatira, and she was a believer who took Paul, Silas, and Luke into her home when they arrived in Philippi.
Read MoreGlitter Force: Faith in a Happy Ending
At first, Emily is delighted; a real pixie, just like in her favorite fairy tales! Then she learns that Candy has been sent to find the “Glitter Force” a group of mighty warriors who will defend earth, and Candy’s homeland, Jubiland (which we hope is badly translated) against the forces of evil, represented by an evil Jester, the Big Bad Wolf, a Witch, an Ogre, and the big bad, Emperor Nogo.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: The Children of Fatima
on May 13th, 1917, three children tending sheep outside of Fatima, Portugal were visited by the Virgin Mary. Over the next several months, Mary appeared to the children on the 13th of every month to deliver visions of future events, including the end of World War I, the beginning of another war, and other important events in their future.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Saint Dominic Savio
Dominic Savio was born to Carlo (or Charles) and Brigitta Savio on April 2, 1842, one of ten children. At age seven, Dominic wrote down four resolutions, the fourth of which was “Death before sin.”
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was a man who followed Jesus Christ from a distance. He was a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, the leaders of the Jewish community.
Read MoreNot Just Another Article on Tolkien
Why does the modern Christian world entertain this preoccupation with The Lord of the Rings and its companions? Why this total and unconditional surrender of article topics to the man of Middle Earth, great though he is?
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. Theodore of Sykeon
St. Theodore of Sykeon’s mother Mary was given a vision of a star, coming down from Heaven and entering her womb. His father Cosmas and various holy men interpreted Mary’s vision to mean the newly conceived child was to be a holy man of God.
Read MoreMoses, Moses!
Growing up, I remember Palm Sunday being a particularly special event, mainly because the grand epic of The Ten Commandments came on TV. We always crowded around the TV to watch this grand masterpiece…
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586) was a second wave Lutheran, often known as “the Second Martin” as his contributions to the Lutheran faith were second only to those of Martin Luther.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Mary of Egypt
The exact details of the life of Mary of Egypt are scarce; her story is told to us third hand by an order of monks living in the Palestinian desert. They tell us that she was a devout holy woman who had once lived a life of sin…
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Gabriel
Today (March 25th) is exactly nine months before Christmas Day, so today we celebrate the Annunciation. Since we’ve already covered the Blessed Virgin Mary this year, today we’re going to look at the other person in that room – the angel Gabriel.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Cyril of Jerusalem
Twice Cyril found himself driven out of his diocese; fully half of his time as bishop was spent in exile. When he was finally vindicated, and able to return to his seat, he found the whole church in Jerusalem in chaos.
Read MoreMagic, Children, and Harry Potter: A Discourse on the Pros and Cons of Fantasy Magic
But why are wizards and witches looked on with suspicion, anyway? Are we not simply prejudiced against them? I think not.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Saints Perpetua & Felicity
Perpetua and Felicity were early Christian martyrs who died in Carthage in 203AD. The primary narrative of their experiences was written by Perpetua herself in the form of a journal.
Read MoreCovid Memory Gaps
A child in the second grade might be missing this part of his development: he doesn’t remember a time when there weren’t face masks and nervous and sometimes angry discussions about Covid, immunizations, symptoms, isolation, and what’s not available at the grocery store this week.
Read MoreA Song Without Harmony, A Fandom Without Focus
With recent news coming out about the Lord of the Rings show that takes place during the events of The Silmarillion, not The Lord of the Rings, there’s been a divide in fans. Yet, despite the fact that no one can step back for a minute and just jump on whatever bandwagon of clickbait words used, some legitimate concerns do rise to the surface.
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