Bear with me in a little folly. I present a fictional account on a hypothetical “what if?” question. That is, what if the great patron saint of parish priests, the Curé of Ars (St. Jean-Marie Vianney), were alive in our times and placed in a typical parish? Based on the Abbé Francis Trochu’s biography of…
Almost everyone I know has been living through a stressful time since last year. So, I hesitate to claim anything extraordinary about what I have experienced. But is there not at least something ironic about losing one’s eyesight in the year 2020? Well, that is what happened to me. Following a brief illness and a…
If there’s one question that has come up over the years of covering the crisis in the Church, again and again, it’s this: what do we do now? I’ve come to realize that we are, in many respects, through the looking glass when it comes to the state of Catholicism. The crisis is, for all…
“Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies?” —St. Augustine, The City of God Precis: Currentism is any political ideology which insists that it is rapidly progressing toward some vision of a human paradise. It recognizes only “now,” repudiating the lessons of yesterday and the Divine Judgment of tomorrow. Because Currentist leaders…
For we are sojourners before thee, and strangers, as were all our fathers. Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and there is no hope. (1Chron: 15) A Good Day for Starting Over: Doing the Thing Fr. Cassian [of the Benedictines of Norcia] gave me a copy a while back of the guide…
A new lawsuit, filed earlier this month by a former seminarian in the Archdiocese of New York, alleges homosexual predation at the North American College — known colloquially as the “NAC” (pronounced “nack”) — in Rome. The suit also accuses Cardinal Dolan of having “ignored complaints” concerning said predation, “and to have ‘covered up’ for…
My Dear Wormwood, I was thrilled to hear you have been making progress with the mother. You have a good lead, from what I hear. She’s feels over-worked, unappreciated, and discouraged? I’m so glad to hear it. If you tread carefully, this can be a great opportunity. With the kids waking her up every hour…
A reader sent me this letter; my reply is given after it. Greetings in Christ! I thought I would share my reflections on your article “Do New Saints Vindicate the New Mass?” First, I agree with the majority of your points, including: Bl. Carlo does seem to have been sanctified; it is God alone who…
As I mentioned in a recent post, I haven’t been writing as much lately because I have less to say that feels important enough to put into words. I’m in this amorphous phase of thought right now where I’m doing a lot of information gathering, some actively, some passively, trying to reset my perspective for…
This story begins in my third year of teaching. Among other things, I was, perhaps mistakenly, assigned to teach grade two Physical Education. Teaching smaller children is not exactly my forte. Thankfully, the young class was generally moving along without too much confusion or strife. A few fits of crying here and there, but hey,…
“Do not be led astray by diverse and strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:9 RSV). ———- Precis: Jesus–“Follow me” (Mt 10:38//Mk 8:34//Lk 9:23//Jn 21:19, 22). Saint Paul–“Be ye followers of me, as I am also of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1, DRB). Joe Biden: “Follow the science, man!” When Jesus returns, will there be no religious faith but,…
