Word on Fire

Dr. Tod Worner The committee hearings begin today, January 25, 2024, on the End-of-Life Option Act (SF 1813/HF 1930). If passed, this bill would allow residents in Minnesota access to physician-assisted suicides. To whom it may concern: My name is Tod Worner, and I am a practicing internal medicine physician in the Minneapolis area. I … Read moreAgainst Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Physician’s Letter to His Legislator

Dr. Richard Clements We all face a fundamental choice in life: Am I going to live primarily for myself, or am I going to live primarily for others (e.g., for God, for my spouse, for my children, for my friends, for my church, for my community, for my country, for the common good of humanity, … Read moreBeing Above and Beyond Yourself

Dr. Tod Worner What we call the new ideas are generally broken fragments of the old ideas.  It was not that a particular notion did not enter Shakespeare’s head; it is that it found a good many other notions waiting to knock the nonsense out of it. —G.K. Chesterton Years ago, in his essay “Tradition … Read moreNew Thinking Ain’t Always New (or Better)

Bishop Robert Barron This article was adapted from Bishop Barron’s homily for the 2024 Respect Life Sunday. Tom Holland’s magnificent book Dominion develops in detail what amounts to a very simple proposition—namely, that Christianity is responsible for many of the central values that we take for granted and that we assume to be universal. In … Read morePro-Life Christians: Now Is the Time to Shout from the Rooftops

Kody W. Cooper It was a cloudy Epiphanytide morning, fifty-one years ago in our nation’s capital, in the year of our Lord 1973, when the Supreme Court announced its decision in Roe v. Wade. Leading American Catholic clerics judged with clarity, immediately. Terence Cardinal Cooke of New York denounced Roe v. Wade as “horrifying” and … Read moreWhen Feelings Don’t Care About Facts: Remembering Roe

Dr. Holly Ordway For many years I have kept up the practice of noting down the title of each book that I finish reading. There’s no self-improvement goal here, and certainly no competitive element (which is why I don’t post them on social media): I simply find it oddly satisfying to do so, and as … Read more5 Recommended Reads for the New Year

Dr. Christopher Kaczor In a recent viral video released on Christmas Day 2023, Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris discussed a wide variety of topics. In contrast to some earlier combative conversations, this discussion explored their differences in a more collaborative way. Among the most important of the differences between Peterson and Harris is a fundamental … Read moreSam Harris and Jordan Peterson on the Bible 

Andrew Tolkmith Opinions abound when it comes to the use of music in the Church’s sacred liturgy, and for good reason: Catholic public worship lacks something essential when it lacks music. As the Council Fathers at Vatican II put it in Sacrosanctum Concilium, “The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable … Read moreSea Shanties, Gregorian Chant, and Liturgical Work

Mark Bradford Simon Sinek is an author and motivational speaker who is best known for popularizing the concept of WHY. His first TED Talk in 2009 has received over 50 million views, and his book, Start with WHY has sold over 1 million copies in the US alone. Mr. Sinek says that only individuals and companies that … Read moreFinding Our “WHY” with Jesus and St. John