Today, August 25, 2020, marks the 750th anniversary of the death in Tunis of a man who “summarizes the entire Middle Ages”, who “was a legislator, a hero and a saint”, who embodied “power united with holiness, and it is just the latter that goes to the foreground for him” (F.R. Chateaubriand, Études historiques, in…
NB: See the rest of this series, plus other articles on the same topic here. Readers are also encouraged to acquire a traditional Catholic catechism; see our list, or check Tradivox. Introduction The Vatican’s new Directory for Catechesis has received rather scanty attention in the Catholic press (its appearance amid the Covidmadness being likely to blame), but we aim to…
The Woman in the Trees: A novel about America’s first approved Marian apparition Theoni Bell (https://theonibell.com/) Independently Published 237 pages $6.99 Kindle; $15.99 Paperback Publisher’s Description: “Set within the expanses of the American frontier, The Woman in the Trees follows Slainie, an inquisitive pioneer girl, whose life is forever transformed when a mysterious seer shows…
The Franciscan order was founded at the height of the Crusading era. Political and religious leaders were consumed with a noble cause: to recover the Holy Land that had been taken centuries earlier by Muslim forces. St. Francis, however, had a different obsession: to convert the Muslims to the one true faith, Catholicism. In 1219,…
By a Homeschooling Catholic Mom It is a dreadful feeling when the world shifts and what you thought you knew is thrown into doubt. Such an event can make one question all the other things that seemed so certain. A seismic change of this sort has shaken me to the core over these past few…
Latin Mass Companion – A New, Easy To Follow Missal Biretta Books 152 Pages $15 individual; Discounts applied to bulk orders A few weeks back, I was offered a review copy of the new Latin Mass Companion from Biretta Books – the publishing arm of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius. I accepted gratefully…
In a recent article I critiqued what I called “bad psychology” which “says that suffering is a result of outmoded rules which hamper sexual and emotional desires.” This psychology was a “false gospel” in the 1960s and 70s, blooming into the Human Potential Movement which has had a massive impact on the Church and the…
“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain Suffering is an inescapable reality of life. Man or woman, rich…
These days, we are often told that we need to examine our consciences about our relationship to the natural world. Are we being good stewards? Are we polluting or contaminating the soil or the water? Are we practicing good agriculture and husbandry? Are we re-using and recycling? Are we tempted to keep the air conditioning…
In a recent column for America magazine, Mike Lewis, editor of the papal positivist website Where Peter Is, writes to condemn “extreme” voices critical of Pope Francis, who in his view are causing a deep and bitter divide in the Church. This is a tired (if predictable) explanation that seeks to place blame for issues that…
190 years ago today, on August 18, 1830, His Apostolic Majesty Franz Joseph (1830-1916), the penultimate emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, was born in Schönbrunn Castle near Vienna. He reigned for 68 years, from 1848 until the First World War. Going through a portrait gallery of the members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine,…
