Humanae Vitae

A few days ago I wrote about chastity as discussed in the recent “Pastoral Letter to Young People on Chastity” written by the Canadian Catholic Bishops. As I said in that post, I found the article to be a helpful letter which gave guidance and encouragement to Catholics and other followers of Jesus. But,one sentence…

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Chastity

A few weeks ago the National Post ran an article about a letter written by the Canadian Catholic Bishops regarding “chastity.” The majority of the letter entitled, “Pastoral Letter to Young People on Chastity,” is directed to young single people and states that “living a life of chastity is an ongoing journey which requires both…

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Noise

It was Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) who said that “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” It was James Thurber (1894-1961) who said “Nowadays men lead lives of noisy desperation.” Thurber said this long before the development of the internet, Twitter, and blog entries.…

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A Lady of Little Faith

I have been reading The Brother’s Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.* It is a brilliant book that will generously reward any reader. You can expect to read a few blog entries dealing with insights from this book. Dostoevsky demonstrates remarkable knowledge of the human psyche in the chapter entitled “A Lady of Little Faith.” An elder…

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Maslow and Human Happiness

A recent article in the Vancouver Sun (August 27, 2010) is causing debate about American psychologist Abraham Maslow’s famous “pyramid of needs.” Many of us have taken a psych course somewhere along the line that introduced us to Maslow’s pyramid of needs which has held sway since 1943. Maslow’s theory suggests that the search for…

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Character

I had a dream last night that prompted me to think about the word “character.” More specifically, I have been thinking about “good character.” What does it mean to be a person of good character? In this dream I was asked for my opinion of a definition of character. The definition I was given was,…

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Taking the Easy Way

I wish there was an easy way to live out this life of faith. I wish there was some way to just say a few words and “presto” life would be simple, righteous, just, easy, and uncomplicated. Jesus, the night before He was crucified, asked for an easier way. He went on a little farther…

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The Path to Holiness

Let us strive and pray that the love of holiness may be created within our hearts; and then acts will follow, such as befit us and our circumstances, in due time, without our distressing ourselves to find what they should be. You need not attempt to draw any precise line between what is sinful and…

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