Fifty years ago, in anticipation of the First Sunday of Advent of 1966, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence. Most American Catholics today are not familiar with the Statement itself, but we are familiar with its general effect: the loosening of norms for Catholics regarding fasting and…
Paul Badde, the well-known German Vatican expert and journalist for EWTN, just published, on 6 August, an interview which could very well help to show the world the true Face of God, namely: the Volto Santo of Manoppello, which, in spite of Pope Benedict’s public visit and veneration in 2010, has still not gained its…
Competing to Win Years ago, as a basketball camp counselor, I was assigned to room with another counselor. He was a few years younger than I; he was also black, taller, stronger, and far more athletic than I. At the time, I might have dismissed his superior physique and athleticism as genetics and talent. His…
In May of 2016, a relative of mine was blessed to participate in a retreat in Germany about the spirituality of Saint Maximilian Kolbe and his Militia Immaculatae (MI). The retreat master was Father Karl Stehlin of the Society of St. Pius X, who himself helped to re-start the MI with its original charism and…
Editor’s Note: Marco Tosatti, Italian journalist and Vatican expert, wrote in Italy’s La Stampa concerning Dr. Maike Hickson’s recent article on Fr. Ingo Dollinger, Cardinal Ratzinger, and the Third Secret of Fatima. Dr. Hickson then reached out to Tosatti — himself an author of a book about Fatima — who agreed to the following interview. Maike Hickson…
[UPDATE: The Vatican has responded to this story with a direct denial attributed to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI himself. You may read their statement and our response to it here.] Today, on the Feast of Pentecost, I called Fr. Ingo Dollinger, a German priest and former professor of theology in Brasil, who is now quite…
In past articles, I have explored the benefits of mental prayer and developing good habits to help you pray throughout the day. Today, I’ll emphasize another form of prayer that should be part of your daily devotions: the Rosary. And as May is the Month of Mary, now is an excellent time to renew your commitment…
Is your prayer life stuck in a rut? It’s time to reconsider your habits. Developing healthy prayer habits can make all the difference. Here are some important practices and habits I’ve learned in recent years–I wish someone would have taught me these when I was a boy. But it’s never too late to learn or to develop…
I discovered this beautiful poem by Fr. Abram J. Ryan, an American priest-poet, while researching my article about the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Fell the snow on the festival’s vigil And surpliced the city in white; I wonder who wove the pure flakelets? Ask the Virgin, or God, or the…
The Rosary is arguably the most recognizable Catholic devotion. Sadly, it is a devotion that has fallen out of fashion for many Catholics. This is deeply unfortunate, as the Rosary is one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal for spiritual warfare and one of the greatest aids in the pursuit of a fruitful spiritual…
This is the third installment of a multi-part series. You may find each part here: Part I – Part II – Part III A Book of Hours was the essential guide to devotion for a literate Catholic layman of the late Middle Ages, from the late 14th century to the early 16th. Its content was essentially liturgical, but selected with…
