RealClearReligion Articles

News always traveled fast in my father’s village. Every morning when we were there, my father and I would walk down the street to a little tea shop. An old man sat out front while his wife sold tea, and the village men gathered to swap stories, exchange gossip and tell all the news from the neighborhood. Whether the news was good or bad, everyone heard it before long. Life was shared face to face, and news spread person to person. Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have lived in a community very much like that. After the angel Gabriel appeared to her, I imagine that might be why Mary...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It sounds catchy in a song, but for many, this time of year can feel anything but wonderful. Feelings of loneliness, sadness or even depression are common, yet they can leave us wondering if or why something is wrong with us when everyone else seems to have it all together. This time of year should seem like a Hallmark Christmas movie full of singing carols, family gatherings and festive memories. If you have ever felt out of sync with the cheer around you, let me assure you… you are not alone. Loneliness and depression tend to...

Christmas evokes a warmth during the winter: bright lights, roaring fires, and good cheer with loved ones. However, as St. Andrew’s Novena distinctly emphasizes, the “piercing cold” conditions of the first Christmas starkly contrast with the holiday season’s comforts, beckoning us to not only recognize Christ’s humility, but to care for the poor, forgotten, and the suffering.   The novena — spanning from the apostle’s feast day (November 30) to Christmas Eve — is prayed fifteen times a day. And while its roots are nebulous, most likely...

During the American founding era, week after week, on Sunday mornings, the congregation members would arise and recite together The Apostles’ Creed, a historic statement of the Christian faith. Often it was written on the walls. Who participated regularly in such affirmation of their faith? George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and so on. For example, at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Congregationalists, such as Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, and Roger Sherman, also affirmed their faith in the divine Savior, Jesus Christ, in...

What happens when Jesus meets you at work? The shepherds were at work when they encountered the angels. They were in the fields tending their flocks — engaged in the ordinary, routine tasks that defined their days. In the midst of their work, something extraordinary happened. From out of nowhere, an angel appeared with a message that changed their lives forever. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the...

They’re killing Christians in other countries, often with impunity. And many Christians in America seem either ignorant or apathetic about it. Perhaps many of us fail to act because  we are not sure how we can help. But religious freedom is exceedingly important. America began because of anti-Christian persecution. Many of the original colonies were peopled by Christians of one brand or another seeking the freedom to worship Jesus here without harassment from the government. As they worded it in the New England Confederation of 1643: “we all came into these parts of America...

Christmas is a wonderful time for us as believers to worship our Lord and remember the true reason for Christ coming into this sinful world some two thousand years ago. Matthew’s Gospel clearly lays out the reason for the season, writing, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Here in this verse, the angel Gabriel is speaking of Mary giving birth to a baby boy. His name will be Jesus, which means “the Lord saves.” This baby will be named Jesus because of the saving work He will do...

I never met James T. Mullaney, Jr., my maternal grandfather — or ‘Grampy,’ as my family affectionately calls him. He passed away on Father’s Day, June 15, 1986, six years before I was born.  Yet his practical, sacrificial faith — rooted in duty to his country, family, and those in need — has not only shaped my spiritual journey, but it also stands as a model of civility in an age often marked by inaction and contempt for others. Born on Dec. 28, 1928, in Leominster, Ma., my Grampy grew up in an Irish-Catholic family with his parents, James T. Sr. and...

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,Nor his pleasure in the legs of a man;The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,In those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10-11) I have a good friend named Douglas. I met him about 15 years ago in a way only God could have orchestrated. One Saturday morning, my wife’s MacBook froze up. I volunteered to drive about eight miles from our home in South San Francisco to the nearest Apple store in Burlingame to see if they could repair it. I was wearing the shirt I had slept in, I am a Jewish believer in Jesus, and the shirt says,...

Many of us look forward to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, days to get the best deals and stock up on gifts for Christmas. People wait in line for hours to make sure they’re able to buy all the items on their list. Then comes Giving Tuesday, right on the heels of materialism’s most profitable days of the year, calling us to remember others in great need instead of the stuff we really want. Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for Christians to return to a life of selflessness and sacrifice — to store up treasure where moth and rust do not destroy. It’s a day that can help...

Scripture is clear that all men are commanded to give God thanks. This command for gratitude for His goodness is not just one day each year but continuously. However, from the earliest days of this nation, thanksgiving has been an important celebration.  The first thanksgiving took place in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as the Puritans held a feast to thank God for His blessings. Throughout our time as British colonies, we celebrated thanksgiving at various times and for different reasons. The first national Thanksgiving Day was observed December 18, 1777, after the...

Thanksgiving is America’s forgotten religious holiday. Not simply a holiday, it was meant to be a true holy day. That it is forgotten as such runs counter to the original Thanksgiving. It also runs counter to logic. And it also runs right into those who seek to imbue it with their own cultural causes. America has many holidays that have nothing to do with “holy days,” from whence the word came. Labor Day is a holiday but not a holy day. Arbor Day is on the calendar but hardly holy — perhaps, unless you are a druid.  “Holiday” has become just a...

My adoption story begins as most do: with a woman who finds herself pregnant but not ready to parent or able to bring a child into her family. My birth mother already had four children and made the noble choice to find an adoption attorney, who then connected her with a couple who couldn’t have biological children. The year my adoption took place was 1967, a period when closed adoptions were the norm. I grew up not knowing anything about my birth mother or father — and was even made fun of by some classmates in elementary school for being adopted. Fortunately, my adoptive parents...

America’s spiritual future is at risk. Recent studies conducted by Pew Research Center have concluded that in 2020, 64% of Americans, including children, were Christian. People who are religiously unaffiliated, sometimes called religious “nones,” accounted for 30% of the US population. Other religions accounted for 6%. If this rate continues, it is projected that by the year 2070, Christians will shrink to just above one-third (35%) while “nones” would rise to between 34 and 52% of the population. Additionally, for the first time in American history, young...

Thanksgiving is around the corner. That holiday is an annual reminder of our nation’s Christian roots, our godly heritage. Although Virginia rightfully proclaims that the first Thanksgiving was in Jamestown in 1619, not in Plymouth in 1621, the Plymouth one became the proto-type of our annual celebrations. President Lincoln was the first to declare Thanksgiving as an annual holiday. George Washington was the first president under the Constitution to declare a national day of Thanksgiving. However, Samuel Adams with the help of two other Continental...

Last week, an avowed socialist — Communist, really — won the mayoral seat of America’s number one city, NYC, the home of Wall Street and the largest Jewish population in the world outside Israel. Zohran Mamdani promised a lot of free stuff---although his supporters had to pay for their own drinks at his victory celebration. With the incredibly terrible track record of Communism, how could a free people vote in socialism? Easy. Through ignorance of history, promoted in our schools, our media, our songs, our culture, and sometimes even through the pulpit, primarily...

America, meet Nick Fuentes.  He’s a podcaster and provocateur with millions of followers — mostly young, single men who call themselves “Groypers.” He has expressed pedophilic preferences, declared his love for mass murderers like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, told women that their bodies were “his choice,” and proudly proclaimed that he’s raising an army of cultish followers loyal only to him. Most recently, Fuentes has been the subject of numerous media profiles, including from The New York...

“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength  . . .” (Psalm 8:2) Our middle child, Paul, married a wonderful young woman, Krystyana, who we were so pleased to welcome into our family. After a couple of years of marriage, they had a baby girl, Jordyn, who will turn six years old later this year and is a never-ending source of fun and joy for my wife and me. We live only about an hour away from Paul and Krys, so we see Jordyn frequently. On several occasions we have had her for a weekend so her parents could have a bit of a vacation from...

As Americans commemorate Veteran’s Day, an important time to be grateful for the military, the sacrifices they make, the protection they provide and the freedom they secure, we cannot neglect the critical role of the man whose Feast Day coincides with this commemoration. St. Martin of Tours (France), the 4th Century Bishop and patron saint of soldiers is celebrated around the world on November 11th, the same day as Armistice Day, that was declared in 1918 to mark the end of World War I and in 1954 became Veterans Day in the U.S.  St. Martin was well known throughout Europe and...