Jeanie Hannaman

By Eric Sammons, Crisis Magazine - It’s not the color of someone’s skin or some inherent inferiority of certain races— to suggest so would be racism. The problem is black American culture, which too often glorifies violence, absentee fathers, promiscuity, misogyny, and self-centeredness. Too many black children grow up without fathers present, and they’re taught at a young age that any sign of “disrespect” to them must be met with aggressive action, typically violent action. The music that dominates black American culture depicts gangsters and thugs as people to emulate, and women as things to exploit as sexual objects. Very little good comes out of black American culture, and it’s time to say this out loud.

By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV, Catholic Exchange - St. Paul in his Letter to the Thessalonians states, “This is the will of your heavenly Father—your sanctification.” The New Testament is replete with statements like these, exhorting us to pursue holiness. Remember Jesus’ injunctions: “Be holy as your Heavenly Father is holy” and “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, they will be filled” (Mt. 5:9). St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta explained, “Holiness is not the privilege of the few; rather, holiness is the duty of all.”