You have arrived at my cyberspace home. Enter and browse, won’t you? Here you will find ideas that I have expressed in articles, essays and homilies, as well as in my newly published book, ENTERING THE HEART OF GOD:Praying the Lord's Prayer In Our Times.
Forty years of being a priest have shaped me. I have been formed by the hands of people among whom God has sent me to love and serve. Within them God dwells; through them He reaches me. I am what I am because of so very many good souls. All of which means that the thoughts shared here are certainly not mine alone. They come from souls sharing a Faith, a Faith inspired by the One whom God has sent us. “We are not on earth as museum-keepers, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life and to prepare for a glorious future.” (Pope John XXIII)
Welcome to my house. I’m glad you stopped by. Do drop in again for other visits. Yours in the Lord, Fr. Charles Irvin
Why FAITH Magazine?
In 1999 Mr. Patrick O'Brien along with others and myself, at the request of Bishop Carl F. Mengeling, began a new initiative for the Diocese of Lansing, a magazine called FAITH. Our intention in publishing FAITH Magazine is to present our readers with the personality of Jesus Christ, present to us ...
Patrick O'Brien & FAITH
From the Lansing State Journal published February 4, 2008: Patrick O’Brien Builds Catholic Diocese’s Presence, by Barbara Wieland
Catholicism - What does Catholicism have to Offer?
The Catholic family of faith offers belief in, and the experience of, the God of Abraham as personal; it finds God's presence in all that is inter-personal, believing each incarnate soul is of God. God, we have come to know, is significantly present to us not simply in things, but personally ...
God & America
Thanksgiving Proclamation
By Abraham Lincoln, 1863
It is the duty of nations as well as of men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with ...
The Cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a sign of contradiction. It proclaims that it is the prerogative of God to bring good out of evil, order out of chaos, meaning out of absurdity, and ...
The Courts v. Religious Expression
When a Court Says No to "One Nation Under God"
U.S. Legal Brawls Abound over Church-State Separation
SAN FRANCISCO, California, JULY 6, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The recent court decision that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of its "one nation ...
Before the 1960s, life was different for priests. Some were revered, some were loved, some were feared, all where held in awe. A priest was like a doctor, one we could go to when we were in any kind of trouble, be it financial, ...
Natural Law is found in human reason; human reason discovers Natural Law. Natural laws are those first principles, those self- evident principles, that require no proof; that demand the assent of the human mind, unless it wishes to risk insanity; they are not simply the utterances of popes or ...
The question as to when human life begins has occupied the minds of physicians, philosophers, and jurists from Greece's golden age of famous thinkers until now. The question is ancient, and for us once again new.
In our time the debate over abortion rights has often been skewed by assertions that those who are against abortion on demand are imposing their religious beliefs on those favoring abortion rights. They couch the debate in terms of faith, doctrine, and religious belief. But what are the factual elements that belong in the debate quite apart from religious beliefs?
Abortion's Anti-Black Bias
Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, was well known for her racist views. Said she: "Colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated," Abortion: A Law Unto Itself Even Legal Parameters Are Being Ignored NEW YORK, FEB. 19, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Legalizing ...
9/11 - A Day In Infamy
The hand of malevolent evil has come down upon us as a nation of people in an event that eclipses the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred sixty years ago. How should we respond?
The Catholic Lawyers Guild
The Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Lansing was organized in 1985. Fr. Charlie is an active member of the guild and works hard to promote the organization. This article provides background information about the guild and a link to the website...
Typically, the faith of the individual passes through certain radical transformations corresponding to the stages of life. In a curious way, these stages seem to be reflected on a larger scale in the historical career of the Church as it grows toward maturity.
The faith of the ...
Measuring Catholic Identity
The publication in 1990 of the apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae has been the inspiration for continuing conversation within the Catholic higher education community in the United States. The leadership of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and its member institutions have explored ways to deepen and enrich the distinctively Catholic religious and intellectual ...
There's a new way for you to get help.
In an effort to make it as easy as possible for our users to get assistance as fast and as easily as possible we have started a new support website called CatholicWeb Help. This website will quickly become your number one resource...
My Life as a Priest
What is life like as a priest? What do these men think and feel about their lives? FAITH talked to two long-time pastors and Bishop Mengeling about being priests - their biggest joys, sorrows, favorite moments and even meals.
Welcome!
Catholicism - What does Catholicism have to Offer?
Morals and stem cell research
God & America
The Triumph of the Cross
The Courts v. Religious Expression
On Natural Law - Part I
9/11 - A Day In Infamy
Maturing Faith
Measuring Catholic Identity