I remember my utter shock and disbelief when our diocese closed all the churches. It seemed like an impossibility (and still does) that there would be no sacraments available to the laity. How does this make sense? In the time …
In These Ominous Days, Benedict Must Speak
I begin by recounting a magnificently horrible tale from the Church’s past: the exploits of the iniquitous Pope Stephen VI. It speaks to corruption, power, and the extent one is willing to go to “undertake” macabre vengeance. Briefly, the notorious …
Finding the Jewel in a Mountain of Gray
Publisher’s note: I’ve maintained a consistent public editorial line over the past month that the most prudent course of action in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is to follow the recommendations on social distancing, even to the point of being …
On Keeping to Arduous Paths and Leaving Satan Behind
I have developed an affection for a verse in Psalm 16: Propter verba labiorum tuorum ego custodivi vias duras, “On account of the words of Thy lips, I have kept the arduous paths” (Ps. 16:4). King David, to whom these …
Attention All Parishes in Need of a Choirmaster or Organist!
One of our contributors on the topic of sacred music, Massimo Scapin (whose articles you can see right here), is among the many men and women who are losing their full time jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Massimo writes: …
Child Sacrifice in the COVID-19 Era
“It’s very difficult for us to recapture people’s motivations for carrying out this practice[.] … Perhaps it was out of … a sense that the good the sacrifice could bring the family or community as a whole outweighed the life …
A Priest’s Sacramental Obligations in Time of Plague
A man is bound to his neighbor in two ways: justice and charity. Justice is concerned with giving what is right to whom it is owed (S.T. II-II q57 a1). Charity is the action whereby a man wills the good …
Commemorating Raphael 500 Years after His Death
This year marks the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio, 1483–1520), the painter who left us a vast legacy of inestimable beauty and grace. This outstanding artist died, “having sunk under continuous acute fever which carried …
The Crucifixion of Our Lord: Where Were His Nails?
Zech. 13:6 And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of thy hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me. (Douay-Rheims) [et dicetur ei quid …
Scripture & Tradition: Palm Sunday
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 Gospel: Matthew 26:36-75; 27:1-66 Almighty and everlasting God, by whose ordinance our Savior took flesh and suffered crucifixion to give mankind a pattern of humility, grant us this boon, that, with the lesson of His endurance before …
1P5 Podcast #62 – Coronavirus Update #3, Cardinal Pell, New Female Deacons Commission
The latest update on the coronavirus situation, an in-depth look at the Cardinal Pell decision, and news about a new commission set up by the pope to examine female deacons. Again. Audio Only: Related Links: Evidence from Wuhan’s morgues, crematoriums …
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