Silencing Rooster Cogburn

January 6, 2024.Reading time 5 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … True Grit appeared on the Orwellian telescreen the other night, and I found myself watching that wonderful film yet again. The climax comes when…

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

December 23, 2023.Reading time 16 minutes.

By Ruth Amsden … Ebenezer Scrooge, a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner,” appears upon introduction to be beyond the reach of love, human or divine. Scrooge is an object lesson for St. Paul’s exhortation to St. Timot

Faithful Friday: Great Martyr Anastasia

December 22, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

By T.K. Wilson … The Great Martyr Anastasia was born in Rome, the daughter of a pagan and a secret Christian. During the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian, she ministered to those in prison, slipping out in disguise, keeping this from her pagan husband. She used her wealth to free the captives and also, using her skill as an herbalist, cured many wounds and diseases, hence her title Deliverer from Poisons, as she knew how to reverse poisonings.

Faithful Friday: Hieromartyr Hilarion

December 15, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

by Ian Wilson … A brilliant theologian and defender of the Russian Orthodox church, Archbishop Hilarion was born Vladimir Alexievich Troitsky around the year 1885 in the Russian village of Lipitsa. He was born into a family of clergy and theologians, and followed in his father’s footsteps.

The Evangelical Octopus

December 9, 2023.Reading time 16 minutes.

By Luke Towns … I handed my pastor the plush octopus and told him, “This is the best animal in the basket.” It was after I returned to my seat that a random thought popped into my head seemingly out of nowhere. “I want my spiritual life to be like an octopus.”

Faithful Friday: St. Bernadette

December 8, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

By Sarah Levesque … St. Bernadette was born Marie-Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844. She was considered a sickly child, and had asthma. Whether due to ailments or other difficulty learning, Bernadette was unable to read, write, or learn her catechism lessons properly as a child, which delayed her First Communion. At the age of fourteen, over the course of six months, she had eighteen visions of Mary, Mother of God…

Discerning With Mary

December 2, 2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

By Cordelia Fitzgerald … First, “I will not serve!” echoed through the heavens, but the second great rebellion was silent, the fruit in the mouth of Eve speaking louder than words. Yet stronger than these rang the simple statement of a Virgin: “Be it done to me according to thy word.”

Faithful Friday: Edmund Campion

December 1, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

By Caroline Liberatore … Edmund Campion is notably remembered and celebrated yearly with a feast day on December 1st. Although there are many components of his later life which we annually recall and commemorate, his entire life was remarkable upon examination.

First, Catch Your Cookbook

November 25, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The arc from Thanksgiving to Christmas is when the thoughtful cook will seek out MeeMaw’s cookbook to verify seasonal specialties: Waldorf salad, corn casserole, turkey fried or baked or broiled, ham fried or baked or boiled, and those old traditional dishes special to each family.

Faithful Friday: Andrew Dung-Lac

November 24, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

By T.K. Wilson … Beginning in the 1600s, the Catholic Church was violently persecuted by the Vietnamese government, but that did not stop the church from growing. One of the main heroes of the Vietnamese church was Andrew Dung-Lac.

Faithful Friday: St. Gregory of Tours

November 17, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Sarah Levesque … Gregory of Tours was likely born in the Merovingian kingdom (now France) around the year 539. He had many important relations, which likely eventually helped secure his appointment to the bishopric. Be that as it may, Gregory was appointed bishop of Tours during the reign of King Sigebert and Queen Brunhild of East Francia in 573.

A Good Five-Cent Cigar

November 11, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … But about the nickel: last week I found a 1948 nickel in my pocket change. That I count pocket change at all dates me because almost no one else does so. This nickel and I both appeared in 1948 and both are a bit worn but still here.

Faithful Friday: Martin Luther

November 10, 2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Faithful Friday: Martin Luther by Ian Wilson … Perhaps the most controversial figure in Western Christianity, Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony. His father had become prosperous in the copper industry, and made enough to give young Martin a good education.

Faithful Friday: Princess Anna Vsevolodna

November 3, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

In the early 9th century, Princess Anna Vsevolodna was born into prominent status as the daughter of Kievan Great Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich and granddaughter of the Byzantine Emperor.

Faithful Friday: St Narcissus

October 26, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

St. Narcissus’ origins are lost to history, but he was born at the end of the first century and was appointed as the thirtieth bishop of Jerusalem around 180AD. He was known for his many virtues and his dedication to his office. During his episcopacy, there was a year that the church ran out of lamp oil.

In The Name Of Our Princess, Snow White

October 21, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

By T.K. Wilson … There was a dear old lady, who could never remember my name, yet she loved my brother and I, and she called me Little Snow White because of my long dark hair (not black, but very close) and pale complexion. It wouldn’t be until I was an adult that I would bear that nickname as a true badge of honor.

Faithful Friday: John Ball

October 20, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

An obscure man from an obscure parish who was content to be forgotten, John Ball was born in Cassington, Oxfordshire, in October 1585.

Faithful Friday: Theodore Beza

October 13, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

Theodore de Beze was born on June 24, 1519, in Vezelay, France. He studied to be a lawyer then set up practice in Paris, where he also wrote poetry. At one point he became very ill and, once he recovered, he sought out the famous reformation leader John Calvin, who was living in Geneva, Switzerland. There, Beza became a professor of Greek, then he travelled Europe preaching the Protestant cause.

Sometimes Love Isn’t Enough

October 9, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

By T.K. Wilson (Rated G) I’ve been noticing a trend in Western cartoons, the trend of the “misunderstood” villain. You know the ones, the ones who have such sad reasons for being bad you feel like they’re almost justified in their actions. Almost. There’s a difference here between a character like Mr. Freeze, who was […]

Faithful Friday: Battle of Lepanto

October 6, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

The Battle of Lepanto was, in many ways, the pivotal moment of this ongoing strife. There was much at stake, particularly as the number of Christian hostages had accumulated astronomically over the years.