March 21, 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: 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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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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Dive into the Sheavings
Pilgrim’s Progress
Mark Twain once said that when he was 15 he thought his father the stupidest man alive, but by the time he was 25, he was amazed at how much the old man had learned in 10 years. The Puritans could probably empathize. In their day, these Angry Young Men
Of the Glory of Kings and the Killing of Cats
My friend, Dr. James Felak of the University of Washington, notes that life is full of broad proverbs that are both true and commonsensical, yet flatly contradictory and false if we try to make them into an all-encompassing rule of life. That’s why everybody believes “haste makes waste” but also
In All Things Charity
The great blueprint for preserving the unity and catholicity of the Church is found in the epistle to the Romans. Many moderns have this rosy view of the New Testament Church as “all in one accord”. All those Bible characters in their togas were pretty much on the same page,
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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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By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition (Kindle)
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Making Senses Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did (Kindle)
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