From “The Dream of the Rood”
Anglo-Saxon, 8th century, trans. Richard Hammer (1970)The earliest Christian poem in English The Rood (cross of Christ) speaks: “It was long past – I still remember
April 3, 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: Pray for the Living and the Dead, Part 2
One can always get all navel-gazey about this sort of thing, and sometimes motives are worth a look. After prayer for Hitchens went out, it
April 2, 2026
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The Work of Mercy: Pray for the Living and the Dead, Part 1
One of the sillier jokes told about Catholics is the one about the guy who gets ushered inside the pearly gates by St. Peter. As
April 1, 2026
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The Work of Mercy: Comfort the Afflicted, Part 2
Of course, there are many kinds of affliction, and all the corporal works of mercy, from feeding the hungry to burying the dead, aim to
March 31, 2026
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Dive into the Sheavings
Christ the King
The last Sunday of the liturgical year is the Feast of Christ the King. To mark that, the Church reminds us that history, like the year, ends in triumph and a crown. But what a strange triumph! And what a strange crown! In the first reading for that Feast for
A Neat, Clean Culture of Death
Some years ago I was listening to a radio show that featured a singer from South America. She introduced a song by mentioning that it dealt with certain taboo subjects for Americans. The audience tittered knowingly, like the good apostate Puritans we Americans are. She quickly corrected them. “No, it’s
Fear vs. Epiphany
A culture of death is a culture of fear, because sin knows it invites judgment. Who does not feel that fear these days? It’s in our very air and water. Puritans set out on this continent as a City on a Hill in the attempt to escape the Old World
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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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