“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 …
Category: Culture
‘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 …
On Rembrandt and His Musical Admirer
On October 4, 350 years will have passed since the death of the Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker who loved light, darkness, and mystery: Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669). The musical side of Rembrandt — his baptismal name and his signature …
What is a Catholic Church Supposed to Look Like?
In my last article at OnePeterFive, I analyzed “The Dark Symbolism of California’s Christ Cathedral.” In the intervening weeks, only one response has been attempted from the other side. I use the word “attempted” deliberately, because it was not a …
Return to Lothlorien: When You’re Discouraged, Rest
There was a time before my own married and family life that a friend of mine slyly described this vocation as “a beautiful bed of roses … only that somebody forgot to de-thorn the roses.” I am told that much …
The Dark Symbolism of California’s Christ Cathedral
July 17, 2019 saw the dedication of the new “Christ Cathedral” of the Diocese of Orange, California. An originally Protestant work of high modernist architecture repurposed on a staggering budget, the cathedral has understandably been the subject of animated discussion …
Book Review: Marco Tosatti’s ‘Viganò vs. the Vatican’
Viganò vs. the Vatican: The Uncensored Testimony of the Italian Journalist Who Helped Break the Story Marco Tosatti Sophia Institute Press 144 pages $14.95 paperback, $9.95 e-book August 26 marks the one-year anniversary of the explosive publication of the testimony …
The Confession: If You Can Betray God, Whom Would You Not Betray?
The Confession Aurelio Porfiri Chorabooks 106 pages $11.18 paperback, $6.70 Kindle Apple Books; Amazon At a moment when the seal of confession is coming under attack all over the world, Aurelio Porfiri has crafted a thrilling novel that illustrates the …