Do they return to idols? Do they recover, taking up the spaces left free by the Church of Christ, characteristic aspects of the pagan world? A few days after the Amazon Synod, the Pachamama Synod — from the fetish depicting …
Category: Culture
Maria Lactans: How Our Lady Feeds Her Son, and Us
Catholic theologians throughout the life of the Church have elucidated, analyzed, and protected the doctrine of Christ’s incarnation. But few have captured this mystery in so arresting, direct, and radiant a manner as the sacred arts. In her literature, hymnography, …
From Franz Liszt, a Journey through Hell and Purgatory
“In this month, which the Holy Church consecrates to the dead, we urge you to gather in the Christian suffrage, so that those who, having obtained forgiveness from their sins, had not yet deserved the remission of their punishment, may …
The Pachamama and the Nebuchadnezzar of Verdi
The news that in these days comes to us around the statuettes of the Pachamama, the mother goddess worshiped in the Inca religion, thrown into the Tiber from Ponte Sant’Angelo, at the foot of the castle dominated by St. Michael, …
The Conversion and Death of Chopin, Master Composer
One hundred seventy years ago, on October 17, 1849, the Polish French composer and pianist who renewed the sound of the Romantic piano died: Frederic Chopin (1810–1849). His superhuman, sad, and passionate art is well summarized in the following words, …
John Henry Newman: Convert, Saint…and Also Musician
The news of the supreme glorification, on October 13, of Saint John Henry Newman (1801–1890) reawakens interest in this British cardinal, theologian and apologist. Beatified by Benedict XVI on September 19, 2010 in Great Britain, he was born in London …
When Children Go to Their Grandparents’ Mass
“Dad, guess what!” My eight-year-old son Joseph came home from a recent weekend stay with his grandparents. It was his first weekend spent away from his parents, and evidently, he had some exciting news. “Oh boy,” I thought, “what crazy …
‘Virtually Impossible with an All-Latin Liturgy’: A Brief History of Active Participation
Although active participation may have dissipated as a liturgical rallying call, it remains an unusually revealing and concise way to track how the Church has evolved over recent decades. This was a new concept in regards to liturgy, and its …
Vivaldi’s Violins: The Great Catholic Priest Composer of ‘The Four Seasons’
“Vivaldi’s violins” — 12 of them, together with one viola, two cellos, and two double basses — left Venice for Cremona, to be studied, preserved, restored, and enhanced. The rare and precious collection is located in Venice’s ancient Ospedale della …
Christendom Was Glorious, but It’s Almost Gone
Today on Twitter, I saw a diamond in the rough. A fellow Catholic by the name of Jacob Bauer posted the following image, with the caption: “I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Thy house, and the place where …