In a previous essay, I introduced an approach to dress that I call the School of Normalcy. I will now further explore the problems with this school of thought so widely held by Catholics today. For brevity, I have kept the focus on women’s dress. However, I believe my observations and analysis may benefit both…
When it comes to the art of dress, there exist two schools of thought among devout Catholics. One school expounds modesty as the highest aim; the other, normalcy. Unfortunately, both completely miss the mark. While the School of Modesty teaches important lessons on safeguarding chastity, it falls short of attaining artistic success because it hardly…
I knelt right up against the rail of the transept loft, on level with the baldacchino, my back heated by the sun streaming through the rose window with the Sacred Heart. The people pressing close on either side of me stood as the nuns, walking two by two, entered the nave below. I stayed on…
No one knows how to build another Chartres Cathedral. As time takes its toll on brick and mortar, and vandals and arsonists destroy, the wonders of Christendom slip away. We Catholic lovers of tradition stand by helplessly sounding forth the lament: “Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things…
Over one century ago, G.K. Chesterton wrote a masterpiece poem titled The Ballad of the White Horse. Today, more than ever, it strikes chords in the hearts of all who love the Catholic Church and her traditions. In soul-stirring rhymes, Chesterton tells the story of ragged King Alfred, who mournfully wanders through his once Catholic…
The Traditional Mass: History, Form, and Theology of the Classical Roman Rite Michael Fiedrowicz Angelico Press 350 pages $32.00 Hardcover; $22.95 Paperback; $9.99 eBook Angelico Press has recently published an excellent book entitled, The Traditional Mass: History, Form, and Theology of the Classical Roman Rite. Written in German by Michael Fiedrowicz and first published in…
Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright: The Genius and Timeliness of the Traditional Latin Mass Peter Kwasniewski Angelico Press 388 pages $30 Hardcover; $19.95 Paperback; $8.99 Kindle Dr. Peter Kwasniewski’s newest book, Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright: The Genius and Timeliness of the Traditional Latin Mass, contains his trademark liturgical commentary, but in addition, it also…
At the top of a grassy hill in St. Louis, Missouri, a bronze apotheosis of the city’s patron sits erect on a giant steed, keeping watch over the city. Recently, this work of art, which has inspired St. Louisans for over a century, has come under scrutiny. All over the world, beautiful, priceless monuments are…
I wanted to learn how to chant. Those inky little square notes zigzagging across the four-line staff were as exciting to me as the markings on a pirate treasure map. My first attempts were in large scholas in which experienced chanters guided the whole group the same way foreign guides shepherd timid tourists: they know…
Young men and women who enter religious formation today bring vital refreshment to a parched and weary Church. However, there are some who enter religion only to find that God has not equipped them with the necessary faculties to persevere. What about them? They longed to join their lives to that river of grace that…
The month of November is a time to contemplate the reality of death and remember the souls of our deceased brothers and sisters. This is a brief account of the funeral of Sister Wilhelmina of the Holy Rosary, the foundress of an extraordinary community of Benedictine nuns. On the feast of the Ascension this year,…
