“America is great because America is good.  When America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”  These words have been tossed around for decades by presidents and speechwriters.  Although who originally said them is in debate, the statement rings true.  So, are we still great?  Are we still good?  Let’s face it, […]

Sit in on any group of women in the throes of motherhood and you will undoubtedly hear tales of the joys of motherhood mixed with complaints of the trials.  It’s inevitable.  The guts and the glory are inseparable.
Motherhood of Old
A long-time friend of ours once astutely observed:  “Never has motherhood been easier but never have […]

Is Jesus God?  If you are Catholic, the answer should be obvious.  But what would your children’s response be?  I assume most people who bother to read a Catholic website have managed to pass that teaching onto their children.  But you might be surprised how many Catholic children — even into the junior high years, […]

Supply and demand: they fuel our economic engines and determines prices. When demand is greater than the supply, prices go up. When the supply is greater than demand, prices go down. But at Planned Parenthood, there is a different twist to this equation. Planned Parenthood has become a billion-dollar industry by supplying birth control and a message that sex outside of marriage is a good idea. Then, when girls and women inevitably get pregnant, they supply the abortions. Planned Parenthood is creating its own demand.

As the mother of ten children, I found the perfect book to help me survive life's rough spots: the Bible. Some of you are nodding: "Of course, it is God's word!" Others have just glazed over: "Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before, but it does not really do anything for me." But whichever group you belong to, the next time you read the Bible, I encourage you to jump right in. The people of the Bible were flesh and blood people, just like you and me. Even Adam and Eve, although they were created in a unique, one of a kind way, were still were just human beings like us.

This was a day my nine-year-old son, Luke, had dreamed of for weeks. We had moved out into the country two months earlier and Luke was impatient for some kind of farm animal. His five brothers and sisters were mildly interested in the ducklings, but not like Luke was.

Never content just to watch critters, he held them securely and talked softly, each one relaxed in this hand until he slowly put it down and lifted another. Luke never left the brood except to eat dinner.

As the sun began to set, Luke steered his ducklings into the garden for a snack of grasshoppers. He accidentally stepped into their huddle and scattered them. The other ducks drew back together, but Quacks scampered off behind a storage chest in the garage and disappeared. He had fallen down a small drainage pipe. The opening was golf ball-sized.

"Is there anything we can do?" Luke asked doubtfully.

"I can't think of anything," I told him helplessly.

"That's what I thought," he said and sadly. "And he was my favorite one, too — Quacks."

There were still eleven ducklings left, but the little lost one broke our hearts. The parable of the Good Shepherd suddenly took on a new relevance. When I awoke to his peeps early the next morning, I wondered how long before lack of food and water would finally quiet him.

"Food," I thought. "That's it!" Luke was just coming out of his room. "Luke," I whispered, "I have an idea. What if you tied a grasshopper to the end of a fishing line? If Quacks is hungry enough, maybe he'll bite it and you can pull him up." I admitted I had no idea if he could survive swallowing the fishing line.

"It's worth a try," Luke said, bounding out the door. He returned a short time later.

"Mom," Luke called excitedly. "Can you pray? Quacks bites the grasshopper but when I pull up the line, he lets go."

I sat down in the living room and prayed for God to guide Quacks up out of the hole. In minutes, Luke returned with a big smile and a little duckling.

"He bit the grasshopper and I was able to pull him all the way up," he explained breathlessly. "When I grabbed him, he just let the grasshopper drop out of his mouth."

By now the other kids were coming downstairs so we filled them in on the rescue. "Didn't you all think it was impossible that we'd ever see Quacks again?" I asked.

The kids looked surprised. "I knew God could do anything so I prayed to Him last night to save Quacks," seven-year-old Tyler said, nonchalantly.

"That's what I did too," agreed Luke.

I was really impressed. Their faith had no limits. If God could save wayward souls that fall through the cracks, how could I have doubted that He would be willing to save a lost little duck.

"Everyone does it, so what's the big deal?"  Taking the pill, getting "fixed", getting a shot of Depo-Provera…there's a myriad of choices for contraception.  The expectation in today's modern society is that everyone uses artificial birth control at some point in their lives, be they married or not.  Right? 
Many years ago, I would have […]

How can something be both immense and minute at the same time, something upon which all of human history depends, yet fragile and almost non-existent to the eye?  It is the union of an egg and sperm — an embryo.  Such is God's way.  He takes something smaller than a mustard seed and brings forth […]

When you stop to count your blessings, do not forget to give God a big thank you to for all the difficult people in your life.  Those cranks that cross your path and darken your doorway are just bursting with the potential to bless you. Every person who provokes you is an opportunity but it […]

Out of the mouths of babes comes… what?  Cute things?  Gibberish?  Wisdom?
Actually, all three.  Not everything a child says is wisdom from on high.  After all, kids are prone to whining and confusion and general silliness.  No one is surprised when a child gets upset because his sibling is "looking at him."  And the percentage […]

When I returned the Catholic faith, or became what some like to call a "revert," something new was added to my life that was not present before: devotion to Mary.  Actually, I believe it was Mary who brought me home, as so many mothers do their lost children.
Having mixed with a fair share of anti-Catholics […]

Have you heard the latest?  According to a New York Times analysis of census results, for the first time in US history, there are more single than married women.  In the fifties, 35 percent of women were single. Back then, it was not considered a desired state of being.  "Spinster" and "old maid" were the […]

After years of hearing that the earth is in serious danger due to overpopulation, I've got some surprising news: the world's population will soon be shrinking.  The bad news is that because of those who swallowed "the earth won't sustain us" lie, there are a lot of people that should be here but are not.
Of […]

As the old year comes to a close it's time to take inventory and count my blessings.  This year, my list includes the new "dollar store" in town that sells toothbrushes.  There is a wide variety, with even some two-pack toothbrushes for, of course, only a dollar.
Lest you think I jest, consider the fact that […]

Trudging along two miles of country road in Kettle River, Minnesota, I shifted the back carrier which held my three-year-old son. I was joined by 3,500 other pilgrims who had congregated to see if the Virgin Mary would appear as purported locutionist Stephen Marino had reported she would.
A Meeting with Mary?
It was Easter, 1993, […]

There’s a bit of a theological disagreement when it comes to heaven. Some believe we will understand all of life’s mysteries and have all our questions answered there. Others expect that basking in the glory of the Almighty will satisfy all desires. Curiosity will simply not exist.
My guess is the latter theory is most […]

Well, it happened. I did not think it would but it did. I got old. You laugh. Doesn’t everybody, unless they meet their maker early? Yes, I knew it and you knew it, but be honest: you never really thought it would happen either, did you?
Hanging Onto the Years
Oh, we […]

Supply and demand; it fuels our economic engines and determines prices. When demand is greater than the supply, prices go up. When the supply is greater than demand, prices go down. But at Planned Parenthood, there is a different twist to this equation.