Of sexual immorality and impurity, St. Paul says, “Let them be not so much as named among you” (Eph. 5:3). He further counsels that we think on those things that are noble, pure, lovely, and admirable (Phil. 4:8); but there comes a time to look into the Abyss and call it by name. The specific…
Memento Mori is an ancient monastic expression that has had a bit of a gothy rebranding and promotion in the Catholic underground. Of course, the nomenclature is timeless and sound–we are all going to die, and we should live as if we understand that; to paraphrase St. Robert Bellarmine, those who live well, die well.…
From The Book of Lemaitrians, Chapter 1, Verses 1 & 2: In the beginning was the dot, no larger than the end of a human hair. When it exploded, that dot released everything that exists and has ever existed in the Universe: time, space, light, energy, and all the matter that makes up the stars,…
By William Po In 2013, Francis, the first Jesuit pope, canonized the Jesuit Peter Faber (1506-1546) who, with founder St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) and four others, vowed poverty, chastity and obedience on Montmartre in 1534 in forming the Compañía de Jesús (which was Latinized into Societas Jesu) – the Jesuit order.…
In a hole in the ground there lived a Catholic. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with liturgical dancing and felt banners, nor yet a dry, bare, ungodly hole with modern Jesuits and new pathways: it was a Catholic-hole, which means the comfort of timeless faith and beauty. It had a perfectly placed round…
Strength without leverage is nothing. Even Samson at his power’s peak could not have budged a massive object in a vacuum: he’d simply push himself backwards into empty space. Likewise, an intellect ungrounded in history can only bounce aimlessly off the ineluctable marble of facts (“stubborn things,” John Adams said). I recently remarked, by way…
“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” -The Evil Queen in Snow White “Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way” -Proverbs 3:6 Precis: The right thing to do is to conform our wishes to God’s will. Here, though, we will…
On Monday, I shared my concerns that the Pope Francis-approved CDF denial of blessings for same-sex couples would follow the same path as their similar reply to the question on intercommunion. Both times, the CDF said the thing in question was not permitted; both times, the pope signed off on the refusal. But within just…
The CDF has, to the delight of many, smacked down an initiative from the German bishops to bless same-sex unions with a signoff from the pope. As reported today by The Pillar: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Monday issued a response to the question “Does the Church have the power to…
“Honey, have you seen my corduroy blazer?” I ask my wife as we prepare to leave for Mass. “Yes dear. I saw it next to Jimmy’s beanie,” she affectionately replies. She too is preparing for Mass. Her Christian Dior dress makes her shine in perfect radiance and modesty. She is certainly the same glorious woman…
This morning, I awoke to a message from an associate in Asia. He writes: “I know you don’t want to write negative stuff anymore, but this is terrible. No more private Masses in St. Peter’s. So many altars will be desolate, then.” He attached a link to the following letter, in Italian, from the Vatican…
