I do not support the death penalty. I don’t think any Catholic ought to, although I respect the option Catholics have within our tradition to do so. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that, in the modern world, sufficient means exist to contain dangerous criminals indefinitely without ending their lives, so the cases in… [Read More]
A Response to “Should Children Make Up Their Own Minds About Religion?”
I did not grow up in church. That surprises people who have only known me as an involved Catholic, but it’s true. My mom’s side is the Catholic side of the family, and they’re only occasional churchgoers. My dad’s side is mostly non-churchgoing, and they’re not Catholic. When I go home for Christmas, I go… [Read More]
The First Steps on the Road (Review: “Loved As I Am”)
To love is to do what is best for the beloved. Some people are easy to love, especially when we have great affection for them besides. Some people are rather more difficult to love. Consider God’s love for us. We rejected him from the very start of humanity, and we reject him individually now, in… [Read More]
Learning to Follow (A Reflection on “The Three Parts of Dance & the Trinity”)
I’m learning to dance. I’ve always loved to dance, even since I was the little girl in shiny gold shoes tearing it up at my uncle’s wedding. True story. I did tap and ballet for about a year when I was four. Since then, it’s been all about freestyle. I have rhythm, which helps a… [Read More]
Biography, Theology, and You (Review: “C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian”)
I like C.S. Lewis a lot. He wasn’t a Catholic, but he was a convert to Anglicanism, and more importantly, he was an incredible writer. I read The Chronicles of Narnia first, but when I entered adulthood, I discovered his apologetics works. I love them so much that I have reviewed most of them here… [Read More]
Best Confession Ever: 5 Things You Should Do Before Confession (and 5 While You’re In There)
I go to Confession. I am not always “in great need of Confession,” as a priest once phrased it, but I have found it to be good for me. I go once a month whether I really think I need to or not, and there is always a particular routine I follow. I like routines…. [Read More]
Clothes On, Heart Full (Review: The Thrill of the Chaste, Catholic Edition)
In my happy journey through every book on chastity known to Christian man, I made a stop at The Thrill of the Chaste back in 2012. The book had been out for years; I tend to be a later adopter. My favorite aspects of that edition were Eden’s utterly realistic experience and her comments about… [Read More]
Where Culture and Scripture Meet (Review: The African American Catholic Youth Bible)
If I’m going to be honest as a reviewer, I have to say that I didn’t want to like this book. That’s a terrible thing. First of all, I generally prefer not to review books I don’t think I’ll like. I made an exception for Wild at Heart. It seemed like the natural follow-up to… [Read More]
When Religion Gets Real (Review: “Yom Kippur as Manifest in an Approaching Dorsal Fin”)
If I were Jewish, I would still write about my faith. I’m not Jewish, and I don’t plan on becoming a Jew. But I am Catholic, and you can probably tell from my writing here at Austin CNM or on my personal blog that I write a lot about my faith. It’s such a huge… [Read More]
Feminized, Feminine, or Human? (A Response to Cardinal Burke on the “Catholic Man-Crisis”)
It’s another hot season for high-ranking church officials making comments to the media. You may have heard about Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke’s recent assignment to patron of the Order of Malta. I will refrain from commenting on that because I don’t really know the story. I do know how to read an interview, though, so… [Read More]
Choosing to Love, Now and Every Day (Review: “Chastity Is for Lovers”)
Whether or not you’re a virgin, chastity is for you. I read a lot about chastity. You might have noticed that if you’ve read any of my writing here at Austin CNM. I recently re-discovered the blog of Arleen Spenceley, a chastity advocate and professional journalist, when I got word of her new book for… [Read More]
Pope Francis Calls Out the Curia (and All of Us)
This is the time of year when many of us begin narrowing down our New Year’s resolutions. I have had great success with resolutions I make throughout the year: drinking water, managing a better to-do list, and blogging more frequently. Your mileage may vary. Pope Francis, however, seems to be on top of the end-of-the-year… [Read More]
Called to Love (Review: Gay & Catholic)
If not for my particular faith journey, I might never have read this book. I started going to church at the age many people first stop. Campus ministry is how I met Gabriel, who blogs at Mudblood Catholic. His writing is highly philosophical and remarkably eloquent. I enjoy his writing because he is honest, faithful,… [Read More]
The Church’s Teaching on Marriage Hasn’t Changed (A Response to #Synod14 and the Humanum Colloquium)
I think it’s safe to say that the synod was a media fiasco. The last time Catholics looked quite that bad was during the U.S. clerical sex abuse scandal, but that was twelve years ago, and the Church has come so far since then (thanks be to God). We might never recover our damaged reputation… [Read More]
The Necessity of Hope (Review: The Children of Men)
Dystopia is hot right now. Perhaps, seeing how situations that were once born of slippery slope fallacies are becoming recent history, more and more people are drawn to depictions of worlds gone terribly wrong. How bad could it get? How would humanity be saved? Since we live in a culture where many people have separated… [Read More]
Behold the Face of God with a Pure Heart (Review: “Bought with a Price”)
Much has been said regarding the celebrity nude photo leak involving Jennifer Lawrence, among others. Lawrence partly explained having such photos at all by saying her long-distance boyfriend would either look at porn or look at her. Wrong. No one should look at pornography. Reflecting on Lawrence’s statement and reading a post by Bishop Paul… [Read More]
Discernment Demands Wisdom (Review: Decision Making & the Will of God)
I put considerable time into thinking about the decisions I make. I’m pretty indecisive by nature, so I have things like the two-minute rule 1 and the alphabet rule 2 to keep me from being paralyzed by too many choices. Lately, I’ve been considering some of life’s most important choices. My friends and I talk… [Read More]
Can the Old Be Made New Again? (Review: “Restoring the Sacred in Omaha”)
You know we are living in strange times when an article is shared on Facebook 2,800 times yet I only see it because an old friend posted it. I was intrigued because I keep my eyes open for new perspectives on books or ideas that have already crossed my mind. In this case, it’s my… [Read More]
My Restless Augustinian Heart
St. Augustine is no stranger to widespread devotion. His incredible conversion story (pagan, playboy, convert, bishop, Doctor of the Church) is known and admired by many a convert and cradle Catholic alike. My favorite band has a song inspired by his well-known Confessions, and they’re not even Catholic!1 Everybody loves Augustine. I especially love him,… [Read More]
A Response to “Why Nuns Don’t Have Mid-Life Crises”
I probably watch more YouTube videos than I should, and I probably also think about nuns more than your average YouTube video viewer. I love it when those sides of me unite, though. In my wandering about the Internet, I stumbled across a delightful video from a TEDx talk at Virginia Tech, “Why Nuns Don’t… [Read More]
A Manifesto for the New Revolution (Review: “A Return to Modesty”)
My journey to embracing modesty would be incomplete without “the step, step, pull down” and Wendy Shalit. I have had three major clothing conversions in my life. The first was when I acknowledged that, although I could get attention from men based on my body, that was not the kind of attention I wanted, so… [Read More]
How to Keep Youth in the Church (A Response to “3 Common Traits”)
Most of my friends in Austin are people I met at Catholic activities. Catholicism is the biggest part of my life (other than being female, I suppose), so it makes sense that I would mainly associate with other Catholics. What most of them don’t know, though, is that I haven’t always been like this. I… [Read More]
Straight from the Shepherd’s Mouth (Review: “Open Mind, Faithful Heart”)
I don’t really have an opinion on Pope Francis yet. I mean, he’s the pope, so I follow his authority on Earth and all that, but I don’t know whether I like his individual personality or not (as much as that matters). I realize that he’s been pope for over a year, however, I am… [Read More]
Hope and Joy (Review: “Light of Love”)
I love sisters. I have one actual, biological sister, and I love her. I also have an ever-growing number of female friends who have entered consecrated religious life, though, and I love them, too. For the record, I also love my friends who have become priests. I tend to hang out with people who follow… [Read More]
Breaking Down Our Babel: A Response to “An Open Letter to the Catholic Blogosphere”
For a church that professes to be “one,” we sure do have a lot of divisions. A few months ago, I wrote about the claim of being one church versus the reality and the ability of that disconnect to scandalize non-Catholics. This weekend, I read Fr. Denis Lemieux’s “Open Letter to the Catholic Blogosphere, On… [Read More]
Naming Your Antagonist (Review: “Something Other Than God”)
The world is actually quite small. I’m a military brat, and I’ve lived in multiple U.S. cities and states for non-government reasons, as well, so I know a few things about incredible connections. Being part of the Catholic blogosphere adds an additional dimension to those connections. I followed Jen Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary, for some… [Read More]
Apologetics Should Not Be Catholic Bible-Thumping
These days, at least in my circles, Catholics are familiar with the concept of apologetics. It is from the Greek apologia, which is not an “I’m sorry” speech, but a defensive speech. It’s more like an explanation than an apology. People who are defending their beliefs usually aren’t sorry they believe those things, anyway! It… [Read More]
Rediscovering Hope (Review: “The Catholic Girl’s Survival Guide for the Single Years”)
I spend about half of my lunch break at work on Facebook, but I like to read something other than statuses and blogs for the second half. When I took this book to work, I was so embarrassed that I was careful to hide the cover. I work for a secular employer, and most of… [Read More]
I’ll Bet You Caused a Scandal Today: A Response to “4 Things Catholics Do”
I used to work in marriage prep. You don’t actually have to be a priest, deacon, or married person to do some parts. Each time I met a new couple, I would ask for one person’s address, then ask if the other’s was the same, and finally ask if they lived together. Almost all of… [Read More]
Playing Dr. Frankenstein Again (Review: “UnWholly”)
I was in middle school when I discovered Harry Potter. I got into it because I heard it was popular in the U.S. (Living in Europe, I didn’t really know much about its actual popularity at the time.) It only took a few chapters before I was hooked. Occasionally I stumble across a book that… [Read More]
Join Together: A Response to “The Economics of Sex”
Men and women have to get on the same page if we’re ever going to get marriage and family life back in good shape. I usually write book reviews here, but reading and then telling you *most* of the story and how well I thought it was written is just part of my skills as… [Read More]
You Thought Your Dinner Took Forever? (Review: “Thanksgiving”)
Holidays can be tough. At their core, they’re supposed to be a celebration of great joy. They involved people, though, and often families, and relationships among individuals always have the potential to get very, very messy. Now take that, multiply it by 350 years, add a turkey dinner, and you’ve got Thanksgiving, by Ellen Cooney…. [Read More]
A Little Story of the Little Way (Review: “The Story of a Soul”)
If you’ve been reading my reviews here for a while, you know that I love stories. I frequently remind you, dear readers, that I love stories because it helps explain my affinity for movies with bad acting or TV shows with morally objectionable content (which, these days, is all the shows). From the story of… [Read More]
Choosing Sides (Review: “The Great Divorce”)
This may be the hardest review I’ve ever had to write for Austin CNM. It’s not my last (unless the Lord knows something I don’t), and it’s not because I don’t know how to express myself here. It’s because I’m not quite sure how I can impress upon you the importance of this book and… [Read More]
A Book That Changed My Mind (Review: “The End of the Affair”)
I can’t stand cheaters—the romantic kind, not the board game kind. (Okay, both kinds.) Trust in relationships is so important that I shudder when anything that purports to be entertaining makes infidelity seem okay. That’s why I don’t like The Notebook, and that’s why I regret seeing Something Borrowed, although I do like Ginnifer Goodwin…. [Read More]
The Rope is Hope (Review: “Delivered”)
As you know, I read a lot. I believe that we read because it teaches us what it means to be human. Most of the nonfiction I read is for Austin CNM these days, so it doesn’t all apply to me. My job here is not just to share what I think and feel about… [Read More]
Don’t Just Read the Bible; Pray It (Review: “Praying Scripture for a Change”)
Praying is hard. I’ll admit it: I find it difficult to pray. Do you? Whether you struggle to pay attention while praying (“Lord, I know I need to—hey, what’s that noise?—focus more”), you don’t know what to pray about (“Let’s see…. Hmm. Am I supposed to pray about what to pray about?”), or you don’t… [Read More]
The Best Nightmare Ever (Review: “The Man Who Was Thursday”)
Sometimes I forget how much I love fiction. History is important because, if we don’t learn from it, we are doomed to repeat it. Theology is critical because we never stop learning about God, even after we die. But fiction can expand our world into real-life versions of what happens in our dreams—or in our… [Read More]
Grieving with God (Review: “A Grief Observed”)
As we near the end of November, the month in which we remember the dead, it seems appropriate to think about how death affects those left behind. As believers in particular, we carry the hope of the resurrection, but we were never promised we wouldn’t feel pain, loneliness, and loss. Theology can only console a… [Read More]
Never Be Ashamed of Your Mother (Review: “Hail, Holy Queen”)
To be Catholic is to love Mary. Although Marian devotion is not nearly as much of a dividing line now (between Catholics and those who could be Catholics) as it once was, it remains a hallmark of Catholicism. If I see a rosary hanging from a rearview mirror, I know that car is probably driven… [Read More]
