Babe Ruth’s diamond February 12, 2014By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Commentary One hundred years ago on St. Valentine’s Day, George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. began his meteoric rise in professional baseball when he signed a contract with the minor league Baltimore Orioles.
Of haberdasheries and ‘Death Dust’ August 15, 2013By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Commentary For years, a tattered and taped copy of the Aug. 30, 1902, issue of The Catholic Mirror has jockeyed for attention on my sometimes-cluttered desk at the Catholic Review.
This Priest Appreciation Day, thank priests who change lives May 29, 2013By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Commentary Father Dale Picarella had just finished greeting a mob of parishioners at the end of Mass when I approached him in the sacristy with a special request. Would he visit my mother at Bayview Medical Center in East Baltimore as she was recovering from cancer surgery?
Pope Benedict XVI offers lesson in humility February 21, 2013By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Commentary The goodness and humility witnessed by the future Baltimore archbishop were on display for all the world Feb. 11 when Pope Benedict XVI quietly announced in Latin that he would step down due to his advanced age and lack of stamina.
Amen: Telling questions for pregnant women January 10, 2013By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Commentary, Respect Life My brother was in line at a local supermarket when he observed a young woman strike up a conversation with an apparent longtime friend. Showing off her slightly protruding belly, the younger woman announced that she was pregnant.
‘I have connections in heaven’ August 30, 2012By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Commentary Mercy Sister Lois Mueller was a bundle of energy when I first met her at The Villa retirement home in Baltimore three years ago. I was visiting for a story I was writing about how retired nuns kept in shape by playing bowling and other Nintendo Wii video games donated by students of St. Joseph School in Cockeysville.
Clarity in Rome confessional February 23, 2012By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Blog, Commentary The Scala Sancta, “Holy Stairs,” are believed to be the passageway Jesus walked on his way to face Pontius Pilate before the crucifixion. St. Helena, mother of Constantine, brought the staircase to the Eternal City from the Holy Land in the middle of the 4th century.
Don’t knock the ‘Net until you try it January 26, 2012By Paul McMullen Catholic Review Filed Under: Amen, Amen McMullen Commentary Romanticizing the past fogs its hardship. For all the appeal of bygone days, does anyone really want to go back to 1932, when our grandparents in Appalachia had to haul wood and water, and stoke the stove to cook and clean?
