Can Respect be Restored to the Modern Funeral?

Tempus Fugit. Memento Mori. Four Latin words describe the traditional attitude toward death, especially our own. Our less economical English language translates the adage as “Time passes quickly. Remember, one day, you will die.” The phrase recalls a comment  I once read about a pious woman. “She died every day that she lived.” She weighed … Read more

Human Composting: The Ultimate Denial of the Soul

From time immemorial, people have buried the dead. Sometimes they even risked their lives to carry out this most basic duty. In times of persecution, for example, Christians put themselves in great danger to recover the bodies of martyrs so that they might receive the holy rites of Christian burial. The Old Testament recounts the … Read more

Imagining a New ‘Death Machine’ to Commit Suicide

Return to Order Imagining a New ‘Death Machine’ to Commit Suicide

It was only a matter of time before someone would imagine something like this. It’s called the “the Sarco,”a capsule designed by Dutch engineer Alex Bannink and activist Philip Nitschke. One model is described as a 3D-printable “death machine” that can be printed out anywhere and activated to induce death when the user chooses. The … Read more

The Hidden Causes of Obesity: Looking at the Whole Picture

Return to Order The Hidden Causes of Obesity: Looking at the Whole Picture 1

Any understanding of the obesity crisis in America must look at society as a whole. It does no good to simplify the matter as a problem of overeating. Beneath the surface of the obesity epidemic, there is a societal crisis of great significance. With population weight gain, there is a concomitant increase in sexually transmitted … Read more

Death Penalty: Avoiding Ambiguity in Doctrinal Matters

Return to Order Death Penalty: Avoiding Ambiguity in Doctrinal Matters

In recent developments, there has been a growing debate over the question of the death penalty. On the one side, the liberals are clamoring that taking the life of an offender is always immoral (though they don’t scruple to defend the “right” to destroy the innocent lives of the unborn). The other end of the … Read more

The True Meaning of Easter

Return to Order The True Meaning of Easter 5

The Resurrection represents the eternal and definitive triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the complete defeat of his adversaries, and the supreme argument of our faith. Saint Paul said that, if Christ had not resurrected, our faith would be vain. The whole edifice of our beliefs is founded on the supernatural fact of the Resurrection. … Read more