We need Judie’s timeless wisdom now more than ever!
Mary, Full of Grace
By Judie Brown The mother of God, the Virgin Mary, is unstained by sin. She is, as Father John Hardon, SJ, explained, “a sign of contradiction because, humanly speaking, it seems contradictory to obtain by yielding; to get by giving.” He continues: Yet that is what Mary teaches us. We gain most when we give most; we grow when we give up; we merit before God when we surrender. You don’t explain...
Matthew 10 and Jim Sedlak
By Judie Brown Heroic pro-life leader Jim Sedlak came to mind this past weekend when I heard the reading from Matthew 10. Christ’s teaching set His apostles on the path of courage even in the face of extreme obstacles, including martyrdom. Those words became the...
Jumbled Priorities
By Judie Brown Recent headlines provoked me to ask a simple question: Why are Canadian geese more important than people? This came to mind when we learned about the Alabama community of Edgewater, where some residents were upset that homeowner association leadership...
Your Beating Heart
By Judie Brown When Hank Williams recorded “Your Cheatin’ Heart” in 1953, it was one of those songs that inspired you to stop and listen because his voice matched the melancholy of the lyrics. My dad loved that song, and he strummed his guitar as he sang along with...
Persons Versus Whatever!
By Judie Brown Reading this title and recalling your child’s response to a loving admonition with the word “whatever!” gives you a sense of where I am going in this commentary. On the one hand, we have the facts, or in the case of parents, the rules, and on the other...
Judging without Justice
By Judie Brown The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the “virtue of religion.” Justice toward men disposes one to respect...
Let Us Have Gratitude
By Judie Brown In the throes of struggling against the forces of godlessness in our daily efforts, we often forget to be grateful for blessings. It is challenging to feel compassion for women poisoning themselves by the ingestion of abortion pills when we realize that...