The Narthex

Vatican Council II counsels us to search out “the signs of the times.” The Latin, “signa perscrutandi” suggests the keen scrutiny this involves. One sign of our calamitous times is the invasion of the slogans of the day. What’s the difference between a sign and a slogan? A sign points,…

Over the past few years, and especially during 2020 as America burned to the cheers of the woke, we have often heard the words “civil war” pronounced by pundits and scholars. America was on the verge of a civil war, we were told. As the crowds in the streets swelled…

A COVID vaccine soon will be available to me, as I’m nearly 79. My married brother and I recently discussed this. He is 77, has grandkids, and must business travel on commercial airplanes, so he would have to get the shot. I live like a hermit, and the only traveling…

My parents had seven children. They were married for 61 years, until my mother’s death. I often think about what I say was “their great love.” She would often tell us children that she loved “every hair on your father’s head.” And he would cry in front of me when…

On average nearly 150,000 people die throughout the world every single day, from all causes, amounting to a total of more than 55 million each year. Those totals should be constantly in our minds as a sort of yardstick or backdrop to our consideration of the numbers reported slain by…

Let's add a few more descriptions of “bystanders” who, when met with a life-and-death situation, attempted a rescue, often fatal for themselves. On May 6, 2016, Catholic Malcolm “Mike” Winffel was walking through a shopping mall’s parking lot with a co-worker, Carl Unger, on their way to lunch “when they…

Charlie Camosy, a stalwart of the American Solidarity Party, argues that we should condemn the Capitol violence of “1-6” without using words like "sacred" and "temple" and "desecration." In his view, they are “not appropriate words for a place which (while very significant) is not sacred, not a temple, and…

I recently saw evergreen trees piled high behind the Senior Center. A trash worker forgot to unlock the trash trailer bins. I stood beside the trees, breathing in the refreshing forest fragrance that conjured up happy Christmases past. It pulled me back to my childhood and the lighted tree in…

Everyday people who were bystanders to emergency have demonstrated the ultimate in self-sacrifice. In this kind of activity, some live, some die. Many people during the Holocaust saved strangers. The State of Israel has recognized over 27,000 Gentiles who did so and are deemed “Righteous Among the Nations” at Yad…

I previously cited individuals who tended patients with incurable, communicable diseases: Joseph Dutton who worked with St. Damien of Molokai, Dr. and Mrs. Harry Blaber, and Dr. Martin Salia who died in 2014. Others who risk death for the sake of another include fire and police personnel. On March 24,…

I visited her right after church on Christmas Sunday. It was still morning when I knocked on her door for my weekly visit. Della ushered me in. She had the tea cups already set out, alongside a plate of her favorite pastry. She indicated I should sit, as she reached…

Let's take a look at individuals who have risked death for the sake of another. Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci, secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, wrote a long essay that recounted the history of the development of the Apostolic Letter On Offer of Life, a document quoted…

It is written: He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. Donald Trump has spent the last four years running his presidential administration as an extension of his wrestling career. He has blustered and play-acted his way through the duties of the office, and trafficked in late-night…

In Part XVII, I brought up the issue of prominence and clarified that by identifying prominent people, I do not mean to imply that prominence is a criterion for canonization. Prominence is why a larger public knows about them. This allows us to have a conversation about whether they, and…

Groucho Marx famously commented, “I wouldn’t join any club that would let me in.” I share this sentiment. But then there’s Miss Elayne’s “Simply for Laughs” online group. Count me in! The talent is top-notch. Here’s Miss Sheila’s latest: Seems there are a couple of factory workers. One tells the…