Category: Culture

The Blackest Day of the Year

Posted on by Father Albert
I confess, I hate Black Friday. I hate it when my cousins leave Thanksgiving evening to participate or even when the go during the day on Friday. I hate it when friends have to miss events to work that day. I hate it when it clutters up the media with hyperbolic claims about once-in-a-lifetime-but-really-twice-a-year deals. I hate it most of all when the inevitable death by trampling fills the news by the time Saturday morning rolls around. Forgive me Father, I have hatred in my heart... And yet, this blog post is not just some angry rant. It's an argument...Read More

Pride, Prejudice… and Eunuchs?

Posted on by Father Albert
So June is a big month for Catholics As you may know, it is the month of the Sacred Heart.  Some of the biggest and best liturgical feasts (excepting Easter) usually happen during this month.  The Trinity, Corpus Christi, The Sacred Heart (hence the month's dedication), the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul (June 29), not to mention a whole host of other great early Church saints.  It is also the month during which most priests (like me!) are ordained, at least in the U.S.  On top of that, it is typically the most...Read More

God Made You That Way? Pope Francis on Being Gay

Posted on by Father Albert
What happened? According to multiple news reports, Pope Francis told a gay Chilean man that God "Juan Carlos, I don’t care about you being gay. God made you that way and loves you as you are and I don’t mind. The pope loves you as you are..." To no one's surprise, this has gotten a lot of attention. Some people are cheering it, some are worried sick, and a good many are probably a just confused. What's the problem? The Catholic Church has always taught that homosexual acts (and, by extension, same-sex unions) are always sinful. But, if God "made...Read More

Netflix or Nothing: Our Need for the Void

Posted on by Father Albert
Netflix is the Devil! Is that a startling enough headline for you?  I'm exaggerating, of course, but only by a little. [caption id="attachment_1783" align="alignright" width="225"] Where are the horns?[/caption] Personally, it's easy for me to lose hours upon hours to Netflix or other similar streaming services.  Even when there wasn't a show that got me excited, I would come back like the bored man to his fridge.  I know what's in the fridge - I've basically memorized it - but I'm still hungry, so I'll close the door for a while, sink further into boredom-hunger and then lower my standards...Read More

Catholics, Yoga, and Words

Posted on by Father Albert
You know, words are a funny thing.  That's important to remember when we ask this question because, I think, much of the problem will come down to what we mean by the word "yoga."  I can't speak for other languages and cultures, but American English at least has a pretty nasty track record of dragging words through a while bunch of meanings before leaving them, muddy and muddled, with a definition that was really better served by a word that already existed.  "Gentleman" is one famous example, the word "gay" is another.  My point here is that "yoga" might well...Read More

Where We Come From

Posted on by Father Albert
[caption id="attachment_1697" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Ancestry Data from 2010 Census, via Wikipedia (Not the same Map used by Ancestry.com)[/caption] Not too long ago, I came  across a cool map of American Migration based on Ancestry.com's genealogical data.  It started me thinking about how many people I know or have heard about who have decided to delve into their ancestry.  Indeed, others have noted that there is a growing number of people who are interested in their genetic history and discovering their roots.  Something about being able to point to a specific place, to a specific set of people and say "that's where...Read More