A blog about faith, intentional living and the joys and struggles of married life.

Tag: Catholic Church

6 Ways to Follow Pope Francis’ Visit to America Digitally

Pope Francis Motorcade

Image: ABC News

There are many ways to celebrate Pope Francis’ first visit to America. But what is the best, unfiltered and easiest way to follow Pope Francis’ visit? I thought I would share six ways I’m engaging online during his time in the US and how to get unfiltered, honest, non-secularized news and updates about his visit.

After all, the pope will mainly be speaking in Spanish while he’s in the states, so the last thing you want is something lost in translation.

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The Value of Women: A Message to My Fellow Men and Society

To my fellow-men–

Listen up! 

This past week I was driving home and heard the following story on the radio:

I was in the supermarket waiting in line to check out. Behind me was a mother and her 13-year-old daughter. The mom had clearly gotten a boob job. As the daughter started admiring the celebrities on the tabloid magazines, the mother put her hands on the daughter’s shoulders and looked up from her breasts toward her daughter’s chest. “If you want to be like them, we’re going to have to get you a set of these.”

The radio host followed up by chastising the woman, exclaiming that she was a terrible example of a mother. The mom was reinforcing the view of our culture–that the worth of a woman is based solely on her looks.

After digesting this story of the current state of our society’s view on women, I am reminded of Archbishop Fulton Sheen‘s quote:

“To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.”

― Fulton J. SheenLife Is Worth Living

The Church on the Dignity of Women

You don’t need to look far to see that the Catholic Church tends to get a bad wrap for how it approaches women’s issues. While there are plenty of misconceptions from either side of this topic, I think it is fair to say that this mindset springs from the ideals of the liberal feminist movement, which pushes the pro-choice agenda, contraception and women’s equality by presenting it under the guise of women’s rights.

Now let me make myself clear, I am not saying women should be treated any less than equal to men, but treating someone equally and treating someone the same are two different things. If people would simply stop and do a little bit of research into what the Church truly believes and the logic behind this belief they would see that the Catholic Church is one of the few organizations fighting for women’s dignity.

My friends, the Church can not fight for women’s dignity alone. It begins with us.

Gentlemen, we in a distinct way are called to respect our female counterparts. As protectors at heart, we need to man up and put some action behind the Church’s teaching. From pornography to contraception, there is too much in our society that diminishes the spirit of women. I am fed up with this B.S., we can do better men.

A Challenge For Men

Even though the value of women is not held highly in our society, I challenge you (myself included) to hold women in higher esteem. It starts with small things. The next time you see a woman wearing revealing clothing, instead of checking her out, say a quick prayer for her.

Single guys, do not rush into a relationship and drag a woman’s heart along for the ride. Set boundaries for your relationships that are respectful to a lady.

If you are married, the next time you speak to your wife, praise her for the gift her femininity brings to your life and the life of your family. Thank her for the sacrifice of motherhood.

If you are a father, tell your daughter she is beautiful, not just pretty… Beautiful. Let her know that you delight in her as our Heavenly Father delights in each of His children.

A cultural shift does not just happen overnight. It begins and ends in the heart of every man. So men, join me and let us begin today!

5 Catholic News Sources for Honest Reporting

With the surprise announcement of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, I thought I would share the top five places I go to for unfiltered, honest, non-secularized Catholic news. These fives news sources for me allow me to not get skewed information regarding the Church or any major news regarding Catholicism.

  1. Vatican News – The official news site of the Vatican offers the faithful brief news articles on the Pope and the Church, videos of His Holiness and multiple news outlets. They tweet @newsva_en
  2. National Catholic Register – The National Catholic Register began in Denver in the late 1920s as the Denver Catholic Register. Exchanging several hands, it eventually was purchased by EWTN from the Legionaries in January 2011. The paper prides itself on being a daily news outlet that is faithful to the Magisterium and professional in presentation. Amongst many supposed Catholic media companies, the NC Register remains a resource for faithful Catholics seeking to understand their Church and their world. It hosts a myriad of correspondents and gives opinion through their various and well-known bloggers. Follow NC Register on twitter @NCRegister
  3. Catholic News Services – The mission of Catholic News Service is the mission of the Church itself — to spread the Gospel through contemporary means of communication. Serving since 1920 as a news agency specializing in reporting religion, is the primary source of national and world news that appears in the U.S. Catholic press. Their website is a little outdated, but decent reporting. You can find them on twitter @CatholicNewsSvc
  4. Rome Reports – Rome Reports is a great source for Catholic news videos. Updated on a regular basis, Rome Reports is faithful to the Church and reliable for up to date videos on Catholic news and papal events. Check out their twitter @romereports
  5. Zenit – Zenit has some of the most comprehensive Vatican News coverage. When the Holy Father issues an Encyclical or Document it is on line within 24 hours. It also prints important news on the international Church and comes in several languages. Follow them on twitter @zenitenglish

Stay away from the following:

National Catholic Reporter – Lovingly called the National Catholic Fishwrap by popular blogger Father Z and others, the supposed Catholic newspaper is a festering wound of heresy and dissent. I call it the National Catholic Distorter.

Mainstream Media “Faith Blogs” – Sites like the Huffington Post on Religion and the CNN Belief Blog are complete froth and generally only host those religious thinkers who are either atheists or angry ex-members of a given religion.

What are your favorite Catholic news sources?

[Note: this blog post was originally posted on PatrickPadley.com]