Out I stepped into the glorious sunshine one Sunday morning after Mass, the church steps a bustling ground of laughter and pleasantries. However, looking around, I noticed a group of mothers gathered together. There were many tears and hugs being shared. What was happening, I wondered? Was there a miscarriage? A child in physical or…
“Of all the sacred mysteries bequeathed to us by Our Lord and Saviour—there is none more comparable to the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist; so, for no crime is there a heavier punishment to be feared from God than for unholy or irreligious use by the faithful of that which is full of holiness—which contains the…
Looking to my own experience and that of so many married friends and acquaintances, it is hard to escape the conclusion that marriage is the most difficult vocation in the world. This is not to say that it does not have its beautiful and wonderful side. It was fitting that St. Paul should compare the…
Two hundred years ago, “by the tidings, in amaze / the earth is held, and with her gaze / the parting hour doth mutely scan / of this great spirit,” as we read in Alessandro Manzoni’s The Fifth of May. In fact, on May 5, 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte died in Saint Helena, a British island…
Author’s note: I originally published this essay on Dec 17, 2015, the day before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was a time of anticipation and excitement for Star Wars fans, but although The Force Awakens recaptured much of the magic of the original trilogy, the next two films wound up being as…
A priest friend on social media sent me a fascinating article at a new Substack called The Upheaval. What is “The Upheaval,” you ask? Well, it’s something you see happening all around you, and it’s unnerving to say the least: We are living through an era of epochal change. At few times in history have…
Vatican executives, including Cardinals who are heads of dicasteries and administrators, will be required to sign a declaration stating that they have no convictions or investigations against them for terrorism, money laundering, or tax evasion. Furthermore, they may not hold assets in tax havens or invest in companies that operate contrary to the doctrine of…
Earlier this week, my friend Joseph Sciambra asked me to be on his podcast. The topic was anger – something I know way too much about. I think it was an interesting and necessary conversation. In the event that it might be of some value to you, I thought I’d share it here:
I recently sent an email to our mailing list, and in it, I asked for some feedback from our readers on the current state, direction, and value of 1P5. There were many responses, a lot of them helpful. But one in particular stood out. It was from a guy I’ll call Chris – not his…
Half a millennium ago, on April 27, 1521, the Portuguese explorer who made the first tour of the world in human history was killed in the Philippines during an unexpected skirmish on the small island of Mactan: Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães, in Portoguese; Fernando de Magallanes, in Spanish). Born to a noble family in…
For all his interest in the liturgy, Pope Benedict XVI made not a single change to the Calendarium Romanum of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite. Even after declaring John of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen to be doctors of the Church, he did not inscribe their names in the calendar. Pope Francis has…
