By Peter Mirus
Showing most recent 122 items by this author.
The Better Pastor: Learning to really manage your parish
Patrick Lencioni is a well-respected business author, writing primarily about team leadership and management. The magic of his popular books, written in the fable format, is that he uses storytelling to engage the heart and the mind—and unbeknownst to either, to begin the change...
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Who Is Pope Francis and how is the world responding? (rollup)
Catholics want to know: who is Pope Francis? What are his views and how will he be likely to govern the Church? This is a rollup of news and commentary on CatholicCulture.org that helps build a picture of our new pope, organized in reverse chronological order. The parenthetical reference...
Junk Reporting on Electing a Pope
Around the news sites and blogosphere, you have begun to see only the first of the many inaccurate, meaningless, irresponsible, and completely misinformed (not to mention heretical, in some cases) reporting on Pope Benedict's resignation and the election of a new pope. Talking heads, so called...
What All Parents Should Want for Their Children
Over the past month I have been reflecting with particular focus on cooperating with grace and allowing that cooperation to transform my private and public life. So perhaps it was providential that this morning, as I picked a bible off the bookshelf to study a passage in Matthew’s Gospel,...
Not Enough Children in California
I found this news item from the Wall Street Journal hardly shocking. "Declining migration and falling birthrates have led to a drop in the number of children in California just as baby boomers reach retirement, creating an economic and demographic challenge for the nation's most populous...
A Mostly Pro-Life Romney? Pro-lifers Do a Body Count
There are several ways in which you might look at Romney’s views on abortion, which allow what I call “the usual three exceptions” (rape, incest, health/life of the mother). The first is that Romney is not “principled pro-life,” meaning that he is really pro-abortion...
Sadly, Penn State Had Some Catholic Dioceses as a Model of "What Not to Do"
Throughout reports on the abuse scandal surrounding Penn State, I haven't been able to escape that feeling of deja vu. There are so many similarities to the Church sex abuse scandals of recent years, it is both familiar and frightening. If you are following the Penn State story and keep history in...
Are You Eliciting Derision and Admiration?
In reading the first chapter of Saint Paul by Pope Benedict XVI, I am struck by his turn of phrase regarding the response to Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire during the time of that great apostle. “[The Jews’] beliefs and way of life, as is still the case today, distinguished...
Good enough to print twice
It is worth pulling this excerpt out of a recent In Depth Analysis article (Subsidiarity: What It Really Means) and letting it have its own space. Dr. Jeff Mirus writes: How often have we heard a bishop or a mainstream Catholic university faculty, in the course of political, social and...
SSPX Athletics
Hey... who would have guessed that the SSPX would make the news (and discussion) on ESPN this week? The story is that an SSPX high school baseball team forfeited a game with an opponent because it had a girl on the team. Officials at Our Lady of Sorrows declined comment. In a written statement...
When 6-Year-Olds Are Guilty of Sexual Harassment
It's better to laugh than cry, right? This Associated Press article (excerpted below) made me want to do both. Why? Well, first I thought the whole article must be a joke... but then I realized it wasn’t. A 6-year-old boy was suspended from his suburban Denver school for three days after...
Too Short for an Article
I’ve been very busy with work and family over the past two weeks, so here are some seeds that haven’t fully germinated. Hopefully, you’ll get some value from these reflections. The problem of pain. I think we tend to tiptoe around others who are suffering, particularly...
Once is not enough
Communications experts know that once is generally not enough. The more important the idea, the more important it is that you “message” that idea often and from different approaches. In addition, you need to use the best communications channel(s) available, and if possible work to...
Reading Fiction to Your Children Can Bring Them Closer to God
Just as story reading is at the center of my daughters’ bedtime rituals, so it was at the center of mine when I was a child. There were six children in our family, and Dad read bedtime stories and sang lullabies to all of us. He did this until we were far older, I suspect, than many of our...
In the tender compassion of our God
At all times of the year, but in Lent particularly, I find this section of the Canticle of Zechariah very compelling and comforting! In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of...
Grading Bishops
In a recent article I asked: "What are the measurables by which we should judge the ‘effectiveness’ of a bishop?" I received several answers from the CatholicCulture.org staff and from readers (see below). I hope you will take time to absorb these interesting and varied...
The Right “Measurables”: Judging the Effectiveness of Bishops
Update: answers to the question posed in this article are now available here: Grading Bishops. In my work (business and marketing strategy) we talk a lot about the right “measurables". What data should we collect and review that will show us how things are going, and make course...
Planning for Lent as a Family
The last couple of years, my children (girls aged 11 and 8) have been old enough to participate in the planning of our family prayer life. So right before Lent started this year, we held a family meeting to discuss what we would do as a group to observe this liturgical season. Family meetings...
Reflections: On the Road Again... Collegeville, PA
As a business consultant in a global economy, over the last 12 months I have worked with clients, partners, and prospects from one side of the United States to the other, as well as Canada, England, Germany, Hungary, and a couple other places. But thanks to technology (including videoconferencing)...
The other Catholic medical association
As readers learn of the Catholic Health Association’s response to the HHS “compromise” (see paragraph 4), they might care to learn (if not already aware) that there is another Catholic medical association that can be relied on for a more, ahem, authentically Catholic viewpoint....
Cardinal Newman Society voices concern over revised mandate
The Cardinal Newman Society has weighed in on President Obama's revised mandate: It is quickly becoming clear that President Obama’s revised mandate for insurance coverage of abortifacients, sterilization and contraception amounts to nothing more than political theater. The mandate...
To plant the humble in their place...
The reading from Sirach in today’s Morning Prayer produced in me two different reactions. The first was to think of this whole “freedom of conscience” struggle with the current administration, and what the Lord’s response will be those who take away that freedom. The second...
Influencing ethical standards in the workplace
As a business consultant, I have spent a good deal of time in client offices over the past 15 years. One of the most fascinating things about this experience is learning about the ethical standards of a company. Typically this learning process does not include reading the employee guidebook or...
Top 10 in the News
To remind our readers, CatholicCulture.org tracks the ten most popular stories from Catholic World News (our in-house news service) over the past 30 days. To see how stories are trending within this top 10, you can visit...
An ovation for the bishop's message
At this morning’s mass in my parish, the pastor read a letter from the Most Reverends Paul Loverde (Bishop of Arlington, Virginia) and Francis DiLorenzo (Bishop of Richmond, Virginia) calling for prayer, fasting, and advocacy to overturn the recent decision by the U.S. Departments of Health...
God, thanks for not sharing the details...
After a week full of various personal trials, I've realized that the less you try to figure out (or worry about figuring out) the specific details of God’s plan, the easier it is to recognize that plan while it is happening. Whew... good thing I’ll never have to learn that lesson...
Psychological Manipulation
In my view, the average person will receive more influence from psychologists through advertising than through any other means. Catholics should reflect that psychological manipulation is the intent of much consumer advertising, including political advertising. Another good reason to have the...
Catholic Superheroes, Revisited
I went to an Opus Dei “circle” yesterday evening, and some of the themes touched upon in the talk reminded me of a fun article I wrote for this site in 2004: Catholic Superheroes. If you really think about it, we Catholics live on the edge. We're a radical bunch — composed of...
Parenting and Business Relationships
Our society is afflicted by the loss of true parenthood. The trust that we feel and owe towards a true father and a true mother leads to confidence in the information that they provide. By extension, the child trusts others whom the parents have commissioned to provide an aspect of his care,...
Changing Education Paradigms
You might appreciate this extremely clever video. I know that our local Catholic Montessorians enjoyed it very much. RSA Animate adapted it from a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson. I'm not familiar with the further work of either entity, but I very much appreciated this particular piece...and...
The Opportunity to Serve
At our church, typically a volunteer altar boy (or two) assists at Mass on weekday mornings. On one day late last week and another early this week, no altar boy showed up. When this occurs, the permanent deacon often takes care of the responsibilities—but occasionally a stalwart member of...
The Way Forward: Addressing a Catholic Failure to Be Outcome-Oriented While Over-Emphasizing Thought Leadership
As Catholics we are trained to reflect on the wisdom of the ages. We study the life of Christ and the history of the Church. We read the writings of the Saints. We study philosophy and theology. These things are important to understanding our Faith and deepening our knowledge of God and His works....
Fight for Your Joy
Sometimes things just don’t go right. You have that moment in the day when you want to pound your head against the wall and shout. Maybe you indulge in a private “Why me?” moment. Perhaps that one client (customer, coworker, friend, relative, or any situation) has driven you...
In Gratitude for Our Friends
At Mass this morning, I offered my intentions for the visitors to CatholicCulture.org—most particularly for our frequent visitors and supporters. As they say, it is nice to have friends. I am deeply appreciative of the many who have come to CatholicCulture.org and who have taken the time to...
The Return of the Prodigal Son
On the advice of an acquaintance, I read, enjoyed, and benefitted from The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J.M. Nouwen. I learned a few new things about myself, and benefitted in my vocation and the various roles I play in my life (husband, father, son, sibling, businessman, etc.). I'm not...
Trusted Advisor
I'm a business consultant, and as a consultant, it is my job to influence the decisions that my clients make. The whole point of practicing at being a good consultant is to gain that "trusted advisor" status. My Catholic upbringing and education has had a very beneficial effect on my...
Catholic Business Thoughts for Autumn
Here are some practical business thoughts as we move into the autumn months. At my business, we pray for our clients—that they will do both natural and supernatural good. This is a good practice, and is a way of further dignifying the work that you do. Courtesy and generosity go...
Back
I didn’t write in this blog during my summer hiatus (the last 30 days, or so), which involved an intense period of business development for my company and a trip to Lake Champlain in upstate New York (where God lives). The time away was very beneficial. Intense business development is by...
The Business of Happiness
I just finished reading The Business of Happiness: 6 Secrets to Extraordinary Success in Work and Life by Ted Leonsis (with John Buckley). Leonsis is a former America Online (AOL) owner/executive and current owner of both the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards. I was eager to read this...
How to Pray About Business Concerns
As a business owner and CEO, I often find myself bringing my business concerns and ambitions to the Lord. I'm in need of so many things: light, inspiration, courage, self-discipline, empathy, etc. All people need to pray well, and that includes those in business. Those who have read me for a...
The Rosary Challenge
In this column I have probably written a great deal about keeping a good life balance. There's always more to be said on the subject. This week I want to focus on prayer. I have long maintained that prayer, exercise, and sleep are the three most important contributions that one can make...
Goals, Goals, and More Goals
One of the proven tenets of life: establish goals for yourself and you are more likely to be successful. However, many people set goals and then come up way short (including myself, from time to time). Goals have to be realistic, and you have to learn how to accomplish them. Someday, I would...
Being Married to Your Customers, Revisited
This past April I wrote an article on CatholicCulture.org comparing customer relationship management to personal relationship management—in particularly, to marriage. This article was significantly lengthened for publication in The New James both in print and online, where I am now a...
Top 10 Business Books
Here are ten brain-teasing, thought-provoking, self-helping books that I feel would be helpful to any Catholic in the workforce. If you don't have one of them, consider picking it up through Amazon.com using one of the links below. A portion of the sale (as much as 10%) will go to support...
A Father's Day Tribute to My Dad
My dad has been the biggest personal and business influence in my life. For better or worse, the composition of a man is significantly shaped by his father; in my case, decidedly for the better. I’ve been blessed with a number of strong father figures in my life—including my...
give to gain: a shocker?
I have done a fair bit of business networking over the years in which the "give to gain" concept is the driving theme of the networking group. Indeed, this concept is understood and practiced by the vast majority of successful business networkers. The motto of Business Network...
Coach John Wooden, RIP
One of the most influential voices in my adult life has been John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach who died Friday night. I never met the man, but his writing spoke to me very personally, and he unknowingly assumed a mentor's role in my life. The book Wooden on...
Knights of Columbus Communications Flawed
CatholicCulture.org’s breaking news piece and following commentary (On the News) regarding the Knights of Columbus’ reluctance to suspend the membership of dissident Knights, has generated its fair share of controversy as well as a formal response from the KofC itself. Both the...
Executive Coaching: What It Is, and What It Ain’t
Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to directly receive executive coaching. I’ve seen executive coaching and leadership training in action before, but only as an observer—not as a subject. So this has been a good opportunity to deepen my sense of its value. Here’s what...
If You Are the Boss, You Make the Rules
Obviously, business owners and executives are supposed to make the rules. One of the hallmarks of a bad manager is a lack of knowledge of how to effectively make and apply rules. Here are some rules for making charitable, effective rules! Decisions should never be made in a...
Keep Treading Water, and Give Thanks!
To put it bluntly, sometimes in life it is just darn impossible to know whether or not you are making headway. Sometimes you just feel like you are treading water, and as everybody knows, you can’t tread water forever—you have to make it to shore, or go under. In this economy, a lot...
Pro-life Pharmacy Closes – Business Reflections
DMC Pharmacy, part of Northern Virginia’s Divine Mercy Care’s (DMC) health care organization, closed last month after nearly two years in business. The pharmacy was the second major project of the organization, which also operates the successful Tepeyac Family Center (OB-GYN). I...
Catholic Social Teachings: Are the Bishops Fishing, Or Not?
I recently began reading Benedictine College School of Business’ Journal of International Business, starting with a complimentary issue received in the mail. So far, I enjoy reading the material that it presents (but haven’t yet read enough to make a recommendation). I do have...
Two Business Meditations for Holy Week
Here are two challenging business meditations as we move through the conclusion of Lent. First Meditation It is a rare and blessed occasion when business activities are executed exactly as planned, resulting in the desired consequences. While a sense of purpose, determination, and steadfastness...
10 Spiritual Classics No Catholic Should Be Without
Here are ten spiritual classics that, in my opinion, no Catholic should be without. These are books that will make a profound difference to both your personal and business life! If you don't have one of them, consider picking it up through Amazon.com using one of the links below. Or...
If God Wants It to Happen, It Will Happen?
I tend to inwardly bridle (more or less, depending on the day) when I hear “If God wants it to happen, it will happen” in regards to business dealings (including apostolic work). This is primarily because it is a fact that God allows us to fail. In my experience, it is atypical for God...
St. Bernard’s Thoughts on Humility, Applied to Business
When you make it a point in life to think about sound business principles and to think about sound spiritual principles, you are bound to notice obvious correlations. As many readers know, I have been rereading In the Steps of Humility by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. This small book introduces a...
Fat America, Online Catholic Education, Rich People’s Money
Each Lent I wonder about the morality of deliberately indulging in practices that jeopardize (or deteriorate) your health, including (surprise, surprise) one’s dietary habits. Of the many aspects of the national health debate that are grabbing the headlines, national obesity is one that has...
humility, tiger woods, meditation, penance, and remember...always carry a rosary!
It’s been a pretty busy last couple of weeks at the office for me, so I’ve been remiss in composing a full length blog entry. However, here are some ideas that are worth putting out there, but probably not worth a full article! First: I’ve been rereading In the Steps of Humility...
The Cost of Excellence
In a previous article, I wrote about how Christians are called to “do all things well,” which includes how we conduct our professional affairs. However, this call presents a challenge to thousands of Catholics who want to do their best job, but are unable to because of a prevailing...
Tebow Commercial
Many who watched the Super Bowl this weekend saw the Focus on the Family commercial featuring Tim Tebow. Just as many didn’t. The brief commercial caught many unawares (in a couple of different ways), and people flocked to the Internet to find out either what they missed or to try to see...
God in heaven, God in others, God in self
I know a priest whose sermons often cover the merits of (1) remembering God’s love for us, and what His relationship with us demands (2) recalling what God’s love of each person requires of us in regards to our neighbor, and (3) understanding how God’s love transforms us and...
Consumer Protection
When you have been around non-profits for as long as I have (my whole life) you learn that there is no such thing as a shameless plug. You don’t lose an opportunity to promote your good work (or the need to get more money to do more good work). That brings me to Trinity Communications and...
Tips for New Business Owners
A reader requested that I provide some thoughts directed at individuals who are just getting started with their own businesses. Here is some important advice for new business owners. Make sure that you do everything necessary to legally operate your business and to limit your liability....
Speak with your authentic voice
At my company we have discussions about making sure that we “speak with our authentic voice”. Basically, this means that our marketing message must be reflective of the distinct characteristics that define our organization. How well we accomplish this goal is under constant review as...
The Non-Profit Matrix
I’ve been working with non-profit organizations for 14 years. In that time, I’ve compiled a matrix for non-profit formation built not only on my own experiences, but also on expert consensus. This structure, called the Non-Profit Best Practice Concurrence Matrix™ (The Non-Profit...
Thoughts for Christmas
We are approaching the fourth week of Advent faster than you can say “O Antiphon”—and after that, Christmas. This time of year is bringing a lot of mixed emotions for many who are suffering from global economic woes. The national business atmosphere is admittedly tense. One...
Value Propositions for Life
In my business we talk a lot about “value propositions”. Essentially, a value proposition is a quantifiable truth that helps to build the business case for a particular course of action. For example, if I was asserting that a client should launch a magazine advertising campaign, I...
The Healthcare Debate and the "Moral Imperative"
Thus far, I've stayed out of the healthcare debate--mostly because it is a thorny and complex subject, which I do not pretend to know everything about. However, here is where I would like to comment: I have heard it expressed in many places that affordable healthcare for all people in the United...
Business Relationship Complexity and Communication
As with any relationship, consultant/client relationships can be very complex. Here's an example: If I talk to a mid-level manager in a company about a strategic change of direction, I'm not just talking to that person. Through that person, I'm certainly talking to superiors and subordinates....
Advent on the Way
It is getting towards late November, which means that here in Virginia the weather could be sunny with temperatures in the mid 60s, or it could be rainy with temperatures in the upper 40s. As I was coming home from work on a wet, chilly day earlier this week, I was reminded that it isn't just...
Customer Attentiveness
Many companies want customers to be attentive to them, but fewer want to be truly attentive to their customers. As with many things, this is an area in which business imitates life. Think of the classic story: boy meets girl--a romance begins. Within the romance, the boy (if he’s...
how much risk is too much?
One of the most difficult issues to address for the Catholic In Business (CIB) is assessing the moral permissibility of assuming more than a certain amount of business risk. All businesses carry a certain amount of risk, but when deciding to pursue a particular business venture, how much is too...
Really, Really Hard Work
When I was trying to get my business off the ground, I would work really long hours to make sure that everything got done. For several years, I worked 60-70 hour weeks on average--some weeks more. Thank goodness, since the first year of my marriage I have never had a commute longer than 25 minutes...
Speak only the truth
Being able to address "the elephant in the room" or "the obvious major hurdle", when no one else wants to do so, is essential for the business consultant. If the client doesn't want to acknowledge or address the problem, that is its choice. But the consultant does not do...
Recruit for the Right Stuff
I have spent the last five years trying to convince some clients, in ways both direct and indirect, that they are going about staff recruitment backwards. Companies should never hire people who do not possess qualities that the company does not plan on teaching to them. If a company...
Statistics and Value Propositions for the Catholic in Business
As a Catholic In Business (CIB), you have to look at statistics very carefully to make sure that you don't create lies or spread "third-party manufactured lies" to others. In marketing, statistics are sliced, diced, julienned, cooked, garnished and served to present appealing-looking...
music for working, part 2
In my last music for working post, I featured three albums of the liturgical/classical genre. This time, I'm going to write a little bit about jazz and feature three very different albums. I have listened a good deal to all three of them while working through the years. Like old friends, they...
"friending" your way to the top
One of the best ways to advance your sphere of influence in the business world is to invest in relationships. Word of mouth drives a significant portion of growth for many companies in many industries. A popular vehicle for doing this, particularly for the small business crowd, is BNI -- the...
Business with a handshake
I once had a prospective client in which I had invested some time, and for which my company was assembling the scope for a project. Near the end of the scope discussions with the prospect, I said, "Great! We'll put together a Statement of Work for you. If you like what you see, just...
This one is for the sufferers
In my experience in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors, I have encountered people in all types of businesses and in all levels of authority that suffer for various reasons. Perhaps that suffering comes from a bad economy, an unreasonable boss, difficult coworker(s), lack of commitment in...
Make the Most Out of Your Weakness
Corporate introspection is a good thing. The acknowledgement that we all have weaknesses is a good thing. Using the "we all have weaknesses" card to excuse poor behavior/performance is a bad thing both in our personal lives, our businesses, and our society. It is admirable to...
Personality Types and the "God Experience"
I am a big proponent of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and recently provided a lecture to our junior staff on the history of the MBTI (including how it relates to the classic temperaments) and the merits of determining your personality type by this system. The MBTI results (and resulting...
Mailbag: Are Labor Unions Encouraged by the Catholic Church?
"How does a Catholic in business reconcile Caritas in Veritate (and earlier encyclicals) with widely accepted business theory and practices regarding labor. 'Union Free' environments are preached in business schools. As a member of SHRM [Society for Human Resource Management] I have many...
people as assets
Both in this blog and on my corporate website, I have written and will continue to write a good deal about leveraging business assets to accomplish goals (both general and specific). In common "business speak" we talk about people as assets all the time. "The company's most...
getting the outsider's perspective
Many small business owners, or organizational leaders working on a tight budget, wonder how they can economically get the "outsider's viewpoint" of their company without spending any money. Simply having the input of one intelligent outsider can make a big difference to maintaining...
know thyself (a painful process)
In order to engage your market, you must know yourself as your market knows you. In other words, you must see yourself through the eyes of your customer! This is the fundamental principle of marketing, but it is often ignored (or not fully executed) in marketing and business development...
A letter to ESPN columnist Pat Forde: Coach Majerus and Archbishop Burke
You can read Forde's article on the clash between Coach Rick Majerus and Archbishop Raymond Burke here: Majerus: 'Good for your soul to be involved in this process' Here is my response to Pat Forde. Pat, With respect, both you and Coach Majerus have missed the point. As a Catholic, you...
Dorothy Sayers for our times
Recently, I had the opportunity to read a biography of Dorothy Sayers by David Coomes. Here are two excerpts that I think you will enjoy. Sayers of course could not write dully to save her life, and only she could have imbued with such swinging wit and bile the simple thesis that it wasn't...
The Nativity Story
Here's a movie that I just found out about — but of course, everybody finds out about new movies before me, so you may already be aware of it. The Nativity Story By New Line Cinema — US Release December,...
Catholic Environmentalism
Care of the environment is an important consideration for all of the world’s inhabitants, but where does it rank in our consideration of moral obligations? What role does it play in our moral consciousness? A small percentage of Catholics rate conservationism and environmentalism very high...
Catholicism and Buddhism: Compatible Beliefs?
Buddhism was introduced to the United States near the beginning of the 20th century, but over the past 30 years or so, Buddhism has crept into our cultural consciousness. For some it is known as having been co-opted into a marketing campaign (such as to promote the Zen Micro MP3 player), for...
No, He’s MY Personal Jesus
Most people don’t know how to have a friendship with Jesus, because it runs contrary to our human experiences. When a human has a friendship, he consciously or subconsciously draws the other person to himself. We try to change our friends just as we try to emulate them—in adoption of...
Building a Catholic Action Plan for Reform
Among the concerns of many Catholics across the world is how to faithfully deal with a bishop who manages his diocese in a manner that undermines or offers little support to the teachings of the Church or its disciplines and norms. Many Catholics feel called to action, but nearly as many feel that...
Liberal Diplomacy and the Church
On January 30th in Washington D.C. the New America Foundation held an event titled “The Real State of the Union Address: A No-Nonsense Assessment of U.S. Foreign Policy and Call to Action”. One of the panelists at the event was Wendy R. Sherman, a former Clinton advisor during his...
My Neighborhood is the Church?
My neighborhood is not very young, but it isn’t that old either. I can remember when it was built, about fifteen years ago. I recall thinking at the time that the builder had yeoman’s work before him. The neighborhood is built on a hill that, pre-development, was threaded throughout...
Hope and Serenity Among the Thorns
These days, there is one question that I can’t escape: “Why are you still a Catholic?” Scandal grips the ecclesial hierarchy, and many called to represent the Christian standard at the penultimate level have ceded their moral authority to an immoral majority. Why am I still...
Principled Catholic Social Action
I’ve now written two articles on Catholic social principles, and no doubt to many of you it sounded like theory for persons, but left out personal activity. Many are frustrated at the fact that I’ve left out all the “solid stuff”. Basically, I’ve committed the sin of...
The Truth About Catholic Social Teachings
In a recent article I wrote about federal social programs and Catholic principles. This is a very broad, controversial subject that demands further treatment. In this article, I’m going to take a brief look at the basis for Catholic social teachings, and how individual freedoms relate to the...
Federal Social Programs and Catholic Principles
One of the fundamental differences between the “liberal” and “conservative” mentalities, at least in the United States, is the penchant of one for glorifying social programs and the other for glorifying capitalism and a free market system. Over the decades, but particularly...
Dual Parenting Action
There are a lot of social reasons why well-constructed families are important to our society. Research shows that poverty rates and criminal behavior among children in families with unmarried parents are likely to grow astronomically. However, in the United States federal and state governments are...
Behold the Great Outdoors
“The sun is noon-time high as I look out my living room window, where I contemplate both the grass wilting and the mercury nosing its way past 90 degrees Fahrenheit. My daughter asks if I can take her to the park, a mere 100 yards from my front door. This, I think to myself, is when men cry...
You are Weird; God is Odd
There’s no hiding the fact that my family members are a bunch of nutcases, and I’m certainly the nut with the biggest cracks. This is probably apparent to everybody. But aside from our garden variety eccentricities, there is a certain aspect to our weirdness that encourages us, but to...
Was Pope JPII an Effective Governor?
Pope John Paul II has been criticized both before and after his death as being a poor ruler because he was a poor disciplinarian. To say that he was a poor disciplinarian implies at least one of three things. First, the Pope was unaware of the need for discipline, out of touch with reality....
Spam, Pornography, Fertility and the American Way
Got an email address? Check. Had it for longer than one month? Double check. Got spam? Uh, 100 checks. Spam is a crippling curse not only on personal email communication but also on business communication. It bogs you down, it is nearly always unwanted, and is often morally offensive. You hate to...
I Just Don’t See It
Sometimes in sports commentary you hear emphasis placed on the ability to “read and react”. This is about the player’s ability to look at the “indicators” exhibited by the opposing team, and then immediately take steps to circumvent the indicated strategy. As in...
Manifestations of Modernism
With the recent scandals in the Church, groups have arisen to try to address the need for Church reform. However, some proponents of “reform” are using the sex scandals to champion Modernist causes, demanding that the Church change both its divinely-instituted structure and its...
Valentine’s Day—Love It or Hate It?
While Valentine’s Day certainly provides couples an opportunity to show their love and respect for each other, in secular interpretation it has come to be a day of token gestures, designed to bail us out of all the grief that we have caused our “significant other” over the course...
Hear No Evil—My Perspective on Rock Music
When I was a child, I was not exposed to as much contemporary music as my peers. My father listened to Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and John Denver; my mother to mostly classical music. Aside from a very few songs like La Bamba, Lean on Me and those from a Little Anthony and the Imperials album, I...
Half Measures in a Crazy World
Now that abortion has become a norm in the United States (and in many other areas of the world), Catholics have been faced with new challenges. Perhaps the most confusing of these challenges is how to regard legislation that is not aimed at abolishing abortion altogether but rather at limiting it...
Catholic Superheroes
If you really think about it, we Catholics live on the edge. We're a radical bunch — composed of individuals who believe the impossible, hope the impossible, and do the impossible. In fact, even if many people don't recognize it, we're the superheroes of the new millennium. Batman, the X-Men, and...
Making Advent Easy
This year we've tried to make Advent easy. Many of us at Trinity have children and can easily appreciate how the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be rushed and chaotic. And considering that, we reflected on how to make it easy for you to access and appreciate the wealth of materials...
We Are All Liars
With the many sufferings afflicting our Church in the past several years, we have all experienced certain emotions: outrage, indignation, anger. And for many of us it is difficult to see past our anger and resentment. Yet, the Church is no stranger to internal corruption and division. So how have...
The Clergy and the Laity: Who's Responsible for Whom?
When it comes to discussing the troubles in today’s Church, I’ve heard a lot of different theories on what “caused the problem”. Most people want to point to a single thing that put us into today’s state of affairs. But in my opinion, many theories falls short of...
Prayer: When Asking is . . . Not Asking?
In Luke 11:9 our Lord states that if we ask, we shall receive. We should approach our heavenly Father with our petitions with firm faith that He will grant our needs. But how do we ask for favors from God? How do we ask God to give us what we need and bring us closer to Him? According to St....
Tolkien and His Trees
As an avid fan of J. R. R. Tolkien I was thrilled with the recent Lord of the Rings movie releases. The Ring Trilogy was finally brought to life on screen in a manner worthy of the integrity of the works. This familiarized many people with the trilogy for the first time. But if you’ve only...
Inspirational Saints of the Liturgy
The First Eucharistic Prayer features the names of 41 saints. I confess that until recently I did not know who all of these saints are. But after hearing (and being able to really focus on) this prayer on the Feast of the Assumption, I decided to do some research to try to find out a little more...
The Chastisement, Revisited
I’ve had a number of responses to my recent article titled The Worst We’ve Had It. Apocalypse Now?. It seems that a few points from the article require some clarification—specifically for readers who thought I was being too flippant about a serious subject or that I might not...
The Worst We've Ever Had It. Apocalypse Now?
For about the past 10 years I’ve been following Catholic world events with some interest. And throughout that period I’ve heard some Catholics—priests, religious, leaders of lay apostolic organizations, and even a few of my friends and acquaintances—claim that the...
Do You Love To Argue?
Over the years I’ve been party to many apologetics debates over Catholic doctrine, and I’m proud to say that, in most cases, all involved (including me) participated with the proper attitude. But I’ve also seen conversations degenerate to the detriment of evangelization when the...
Catholic Tech Watch: The Catholic's Best Solutions for Internet Protection
This week CatholicCulture.org is releasing a follow-up to my recent article about protecting your children (and yourself) when on the Internet. In that article, I made mention of the fact that we have performed extensive testing of many products that can assist you in that endeavor. The...
Pornography and the Internet: Are Your Children Safe?
I tend to be skeptical when Catholic parents claim that they have protected their children against pornography on the Internet. I live in a very traditional, solid Catholic community—so I’d expect the methodology of the parents to be more proactive than in other areas. However,...
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