Editor’s note: This article is Part II of a series. For Part I, click here. The traditional Mass can be compared to a tournament. At the beginning of a High Mass, the priest (knight) processes in with the deacon and sub-deacon (squires) and all the acolytes, torchbearers, and other servers (pages). The priest is arrayed…
Photo credit: Paweł Kula Editor’s note: This article is Part I of a two-part series. For Part II, click here. Author’s note: This article dwells particularly on the vocation to the priestly life. For the most part, the things said about the priesthood are also applicable to the religious life in general. Also, even though about…
Have you ever been to a particularly boisterous and noisy party, and, perhaps getting a bit weary of the noise, slipped off into a quiet room by yourself for a bit and shut the door behind you? Or maybe out into the garden? You can still hear the racket behind you, but it’s distant and…
Editor’s note: the following letter was submitted to us by a young man currently studying for the priesthood in the United States. Sadly, expressing even these measured thoughts on some of the difficulties facing seminarians in the current ecclesiastical climate could provoke retribution. For this reason, we have agreed to keep his identity anonymous. While…
In the early 1200s, St. Francis of Assisi inflamed the hearts of the faithful with the Gospel message. He did not just speak the Good News; he lived it, with a particular emphasis on poverty and simplicity. As he wandered Italy and farther abroad, people flocked to hear his preaching and marveled at his example.…
What if there were a place for women to go who love the Lord, who felt drawn to a life of prayer and intimate union with Him, who desired a life devoted to poverty, chastity and obedience but who, for any number of reasons, could not pursue traditional religious life? What if there were a…
Editor’s note: this is part two of a two-part essay. You can see part one here. Introduction After Norcia, my family visited Silverstream Priory in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland, about a half hour’s drive from Dublin. Dedicated to Our Lady of the Cenacle, this new foundation represents a new haven and point of departure, steeped…
