First Responders: Gifts of Service
Many of our first responders are volunteers, and so in addition to their support-the-family jobs they also serve the community on their own time and often at their own expense. We need them.
Read MoreCategory: Nonfiction
Faithful Friday: Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas became a prolific theological writer, famously dictating his thoughts for different works to multiple secretaries simultaneously… His seminal work is the Summa Theologica (or Summa Theologiae), a massive multi-volume explanation and defense of all of the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church.
Read MoreNorm Macdonald, Literary Critic
If you’ve seen me since the middle of September, it is a near certainty that I have asked you, “Have you seen the moth joke?” and then—regardless of your answer—proceeded to whip out my phone and play you a clip of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien from 2009.
Read MoreA Boredom-and-Onions Reflection on Enjoying Life
A meal is a social activity, the society of which is preserved today only rarely for meetings at restaurants. This socialization should not be limited to only the eating of food, however, but should also be connected to its preparation.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. Agnes
Saint Agnes was a Roman martyr from the times of the early persecutions of the Church whose exact time period is unknown, though she may have died in 304. While her exact story is also unclear, tradition holds that Agnes professed herself to be married to Jesus and would accept no other husband.
Read MoreNew Year, Now What?
Yes, the day we have assigned to be New Year’s Day may be arbitrary, but what it represents is not. There is a reason why new beginnings, fresh starts, and—yes—resolutions dominate our minds as each year draws to a close…
Read MoreA Lutheran Case for Infant Baptism
Contrary to popular belief amongst credo-baptists, paedobaptism (infant baptism) is found in Holy Writ…
Read MoreToy Trains, Grandmother’s Good China, and Children
Childhood Christmases are often the metaphorical benchmark for our present Christmases, and that won’t do. The magic of opening a package under the tree on Christmas morning is for little children; it won’t work for us and it’s not meant to.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Saint Olympias the Younger
St. Olympias was born to a wealthy Roman family with many ties to nobility in the 360s AD. At a young age, she married Nebridius, Prefect of Constantinople. One of the invitees was St. Gregory of Nazianzus, though he was unable to attend.
Read MoreA Wristwatch Named Karen
This summer someone near and dear to me gave me one of those clever computerized watches to replace my classic (old) $8 Timex. Karen-the-Watch features a big screen onto which I can easily sweep dozens of different faces. I picked the one most like my minimalist (old) Timex…
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Karl Barth
Perhaps the most famous theologian of the 20th century, Karl Barth was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1886, the son of a professor of Early Church History at Bern. Barth studied at several universities during his theological training, and came under the influence of 19th century liberal theology. After graduating, he became a minister in Geneva from 1909 to 1911, before moving to Safenwil, Switzerland.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. Birinus
St. Birinus, sometimes called Birin or Berin was consecrated as a bishop and sent by Pope Honorius I to be a missionary to the people of Britain. He was successful in converting the pagan king of the West Saxons…
Read MoreWhen Your Norelco Goes Rogue
Intrusive and dangerous technology has come a long way since Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone…
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Isaac Watts
Without a doubt, one of the finest hymn writers in Protestant Christianity, Isaac Watts was born in 1674, while his father was imprisoned for his nonconformist beliefs. Though often in ill health and clinically depressed, Isaac Watts inherited his father’s steadfast character; a trait which kept him strong through fierce criticism, church splits and other hardships.
Read MoreGiving Thanks for all Our Thanksgivings
For a child, Thanksgiving is sort of like Christmas only without any toys. It’s interesting enough: lots of relatives come to dinner, and there’s turkey and “the good china,” but without Santa Claus and toys it’s not that big a thing.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Mechtilde of Hackeborn
St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn was born in 1240 or 1241 to one of the most important families of Thuringia. She was baptized immediately after her birth, as it was feared that she would die soon after. The priest who baptized her was unconcerned, saying, “This child most certainly will not die, but she will become a saintly religious in whom God will work many wonders, and she will end her days in a good old age.”
Read MoreDivine Revelation
There are multiple facets of Divine Revelation. The main sections are Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, though God also reveals Himself in Creation, and certain saints have claimed to have been given visions.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Richard Baxter
yet he always sought to keep the middle ground between the factions. He was fond of saying “In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.”
Read MoreFaithful Friday: George Abbot
George Abbot was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633. He was born in Surrey in 1562… George studied under many eminent scholars and was chosen Master of University College in 1597. He took a leading part in preparing the authorized version of the King James New Testament.
Read MoreIn Defense of Fiction
A creative God who created mankind in His image would not stop us from continuing to create, as long as He is part of the equation. This then calls to mind one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, that of discernment. In order to find out if something is truly good or evil, we must take the time to discern its purpose as well as what we take from the product…
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