When it comes to those things we hold most dear, emotions run deep and alliances are solid. Loyalty is sacred and crossing a line is deemed treasonous.
Category: Vicki Burbach
The Family and The Mystical Body of Christ
Some days I feel like the entire day is spent encouraging, lecturing, threatening, and punishing kids into applying the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you…When you think about it, families can be composed of individuals who would never choose to live in the same hemisphere, much less in the same home!
Suffering: Mess or Masterpiece?
Is suffering a messy canvas splattered with a mishmash of random paint splotches? Or is it a masterpiece of order and beauty, full of meaning and inspiration? It all depends on how you look at it.
The Sorrows of Motherhood
In this, the month devoted to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, it seemed fitting to examine the sorrows inherent in motherhood. Let’s begin with a quote by Saint Pope John XXIII in his Journal of a Soul. It is a little long, but hang on – I think you’ll find his message to be profound: During this retreat, the Lord has been pleased to show me yet again all the importance for me, and for the success of my priestly ministry, of the spirit of sacrifice, which I desire shall from now on evermore inspire my conduct ‘as a servant…
Obedience – Loving Oblation or Outmoded Virtue from a Bygone Era?
To a mother, obedience has to be the most lovely concept in the world. You can have all the beautifully made breakfasts-in-bed, the meticulously prepared artwork that that says, “I love Mom,” in every conceivable medium from crayons to macaroni; you can have all the dedicated essays, all the sincere apologies offered after the fact; you can even have all the hugs and kisses (OK, maybe that’s taking it a little too far). But on any given day, show me six children (nix that – just show me three teenagers) who, when asked to do something – anything –…
Giving up the Fight
Who among us had not endured pain so excruciating that at the time we could not even whisper our Lord’s name? It is in those moments that we most willingly lift our hearts to Him. When we can do nothing else, we offer whatever we have left. We surrender.
Socialism: Cunning Seductress for Catholics but a Deadly Plague on the Body of Christ
Before the cheerleaders of this dangerous ideology take another step, we need to look them in the eye and denounce their ideas for the evils that they represent.
When Duty Calls…
This past year may provide many a topic for discussion, as it’s been frought with lessons for me on the meaning of sacrifice, and on the fruit that it can procure within a marriage, within a family.
Janusz Korczak: A Hero of the Holocaust
If you were to walk through the entire cemetery, gazing upon stone after stone after stone, you would find only one engraved with a name. That name, is Janusz Korczak.
New Friday Feature – Sacrifice in the News
Here, at Pelican’s Breast, we believe Friday is the perfect forum to celebrate contemporary stories of sacrifice, some big, some small, all of which which represent Christ and His perfect observance of the two greatest commandments – love of God and love of neighbor.
