The Work of Mercy: Admonish the Sinner, Part 1
Of all the works of mercy, probably the most thankless and despised is admonishing the sinner. Nobody wants to do it (except human toothaches), and
March 20, 2026
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Welcome to the website of Catholic author Mark Shea! Read his recent musings on the blog, or purchase his books from the store.
Recent Posts
The Work of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful, Part 2
Doubts can be located in the emotions, intellect, or will. Emotional doubts can be potent, but very often, when you interrogate them, there’s no There
March 19, 2026
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The Work of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful, Part 1
Doubt can be the emotional equivalent of a brief spring rain or a hurricane. People doubt whether to place two bucks on the Mariners (don’t)
March 18, 2026
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The Work of Mercy: Instruct the Ignorant, Part 2
The notion that Jew or Gentile can claim to be top dog in the pedagogy of salvation is like the idea of patients in a
March 17, 2026
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Dive into the Sheavings
Beyond Tribal Faith
Recently, Newsweek ran a piece by Kathleen Deveny in which she lamented the fact that she didn’t know how to talk to her daughter about God. Several things struck me about the piece. First, and most arresting, was her opening remark: “Sometimes I think it is easier to talk to
Catholic Religion Quiz
Recently the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life put out a quiz in which atheists did better than Christians in answering some basic questions about such matters as “Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt?” (In case you were wondering, the correct answer
A Few Gratitudes
The center of our Faith is Eucharist. Eucharist means “thanksgiving”. That means that the center of our Faith is thanksgiving. It is in the form of a thanksgiving meal that our Lord chose to make Himself present to us. And He did so, shockingly, “on the night He was betrayed”.
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About Mark Shea
Greetings! I’m Mark P. Shea, a Catholic author and blogger who’s also done a spot of podcasting and even acting here and there, as well as radio and TV work. My latest book, The Church’s Best-Kept Secret: A Primer on Catholic Social Teaching was published in September 2020 by New City Press. Other works include By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition (Ignatius), Mary, Mother of the Son, This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence (Christendom), and Making Senses Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did (Basilica), Salt and Light: The Commandments, the Beatitudes, and a Joyful Life (Servant), The Heart of Catholic Prayer: Rediscovering the Our Father and the Hail Mary (Our Sunday Visitor) and The Work of Mercy: Being the Hands and Heart of Christ (Servant).
I can also be found on Facebook (here and here) and Twitter. If you like my work and want to see more of it, please become one of my supporters on Patreon…..
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