Today is the feast day of our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. She holds particular significance to the Catholic Church in America, as her appearance to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill in Mexico was the first Marian apparition in the …
‘Children Change Everything’: Prioritizing Family Worship
Children change everything. This is a truth we ponder many times in our lives. First, if we are believing Christians, we celebrate each year the coming of a child – the Child, Emmanuel, God with us, the Word made flesh …
The Transgender Church
Even a year ago, I was completely blind to the spiritual danger of the rising transgender movement. I conceptualized transgenderism as a treatable societal malignancy, which would not cause widespread problems if it could somehow be contained within the confines …
The Birth of Ruins
In retrospect, it is easy to see the lines of demarcation between one society and another. Yet, when one considers the fall of Rome in the West that was clear by the year 476, it seems that the signs of …
The Ethics of Jolly Old Elfland
“My first and last philosophy, that which I believe in with unbroken certainty, I learnt in the nursery. I generally learnt it from a nurse; that is, from the solemn and star-appointed priestess at once of democracy and tradition. The …
Make This a Black Friday the Bishops Won’t Forget
Thanksgiving is now past, and while leftovers are being refrigerated and families are saying their goodbyes, much despair is held by lay faithful. We are still reeling following the less than fruitful meeting of the USCCB in Baltimore a little …
Confusion about Graces: A Catholic Critique of the Charismatic Movement
All Catholics will sooner or later be asked a question like this: “So, what do you think of the charismatic movement?” It may come from a Catholic heavily involved in the “renewal”; it may come from a hardened skeptic; it …
In Defense of the Jesuit Order (Sort Of)
Editor’s note: The following is not the position of 1P5, but we submit the author’s opinion to help inform discussion on the question of the always troublesome (these days) Jesuits. As we lament their present state, it is worthwhile to …
Fasting and Feasting: Winning Back the Catholic Calendar
Last week, the display cases at my Catholic high school, which house the most recent creations of the art students, caught my attention. They contained dioramas commemorating family members and close friends who were clearly deceased. I assumed, it being …
Words of Consolation: Chesterton, Tolkien, and the Crisis in the Church
Like many Catholics who love their faith, I have struggled to find an explanation for the current crisis in the Church. Despite countless hours of research and analysis, I still find the situation deeply mysterious. It seems that the impossible …
