by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on November 23, 2011 · 4 comments
. . . This is the little known story of Squanto, and of how he saved the day for the pilgrims and strangers in this strange land who ventured here to be forever rid of the remnants of Catholicism in the Church of England. It’s a story of how Catholic respect for human life reached across entire oceans and continents to save a man’s life so he could in turn save others. It’s a story of the triumph of grace and the twists and turns of a human soul venturing toward God. And if the Pilgrims knew a Pope was involved, they might just have climbed back aboard the Mayflower. This is an account of Thanksgiving we hope you will want to pass along to others, and include in your own Thanksgiving celebration. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on February 10, 2010 · 12 comments
. . . Many of the younger prisoners are just lost. There’s a clear correlation between their presence here and the systemic breakdown of family – especially fatherhood – in our culture. There is an alarming number of young prisoners here who have had either abusive fathers or none at all. There is a direct and demonstrable correlation between the breakdown of family and the marked increase in prisoners in our society. . . . Anyone who is not alarmed by this statistic doesn’t understand the relationship between religious values, family life, crime, and the abandonment of young people to wander east of Eden. Among young men now in the New Hampshire prison system, the recidivism rate is a staggering 57 percent. . . .
