Welcome to Southern Catholicism

Welcome all.  On these pages I'll be blogging about all things Southern and all things Catholic, and the interesting and unique ways in which they intersect.  Check back often and let me hear from you.

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The One Issue Voter

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     Many years ago, I was discussing politics with a friend (something I don’t really do anymore) and suddenly out of the blue he said, “Oh, you’re one of those Catholic one-issue voters.”  I sincerely didn’t know what he was referring to when he made that accusation.  After a few more exchanges I figured out that he was talking about abortion, even though we hadn’t mentioned that subject at all.      As a traditional Catholic Christian, I am absolutely 100% Pro-Life, but we factually were not discussing that issue.   Obviously, he had just made the common connection of “closed-minded Catholic equals obsessed with abortion.”   Per my usual M.O., I could come up with no coherent response until a few hours later.        What I should have said that day was that I am absolutely a one-issue voter, and that issue is Christianity.  No other issue can even come close.  Not the economy.  Not immigration....
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Doubting Thomas - Why I Won't Allow Films By Tom Hanks In My Home

     A few years back, I believe it was around the end of 2019, I was telling a friend how I don’t understand the appeal of the Polar Express movie and how my kids were driving me crazy playing it over and over again.  The film has always just seemed painfully average to me, and I have never truly understood its popularity.  My friend looked at me and said, “You shouldn’t have movies by Tom Hanks in your house.”       If you’ve known me for a good while you already know that I am not a Hanks fan – not a fan of his films, and not particularly a fan of the man himself.  Much like Garth Brooks, Hanks has always struck me as someone who just oozes false humility.  His aw-shucks, I’m just the guy next store routine has never set well with me.       But if my kids wanted to watch that overrated Polar Express movie, I wasn’t really going to put up a protest.   When it comes to raising kids in a rapidly declining s...
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That Moment You Finally Realize the Chair is Empty

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     It was the fall of 2020 and I was standing at the sink in the men’s room of a church 140 miles from my house.   If you don’t remember the fall of 2020 let me remind you – there were mostly peaceful riots breaking out all over the nation, so taking a 140-mile trip away from my home wasn’t exactly high on my list of things I wanted to do.  I splashed water on my face, looked into the mirror, and laughed about the strangeness of my situation.  I had just driven two and a half hours (through the nation’s most notorious speed trap) to attend a Catholic Mass when by all appearances there was one taking place that Sunday at the church LITERALLY within walking distance of my house.       As I stood there my mind went back to the time that I was at a church function and a deacon led us in prayer before our meal.   In his prayer he decided to reference Exodus 3:5 where God tells Moses to remove his sandals because he’s standing...
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