The traditional Catholic lectionary — dating back to the first millennium of Christianity and, since the Middle Ages, included in the contents of the altar missal itself — includes far fewer readings than the revised (postconciliar) lectionary used for the Novus Ordo Mass. However, this is not a strike against the former, since the lectionary,…
The month of November is a time to contemplate the reality of death and remember the souls of our deceased brothers and sisters. This is a brief account of the funeral of Sister Wilhelmina of the Holy Rosary, the foundress of an extraordinary community of Benedictine nuns. On the feast of the Ascension this year,…
John Senior is a household name for three often overlapping categories of people. He is known for his list of the so-called “thousand good books,” a canon that seeks to nourish the intellectual and imaginative habitat of a thoroughly Christian worldview, indispensable to the appreciation of the “great” books. He is also known for his…
Recently I received the following email, and since it brought up a topic that I am sure an increasing number of parents have to deal with, I would like to share it and my response. Dear Dr. Kwasniewski, My family and I attend a weekly TLM at our parish, or we occasionally drive about an…
Among the many beautiful churches in St. Louis, the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales must be listed near the top. In fact, the Oratory earned the title of the most beautiful church in the county in 2017 by the Art & Liturgy blog. Living within driving distance of St. Louis, I was waiting for…
How long ago it seems now, after six and a half grueling, mind-bending years under Pope Francis, coupled with the shock, from which one will never recover, of Pope Benedict’s abdication. It was like transitioning from a post-doctoral theology seminar to a multicultural kindergarten. But I still remember it clearly: the Eleventh Ordinary Synod of…
“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 codswallop did my dad teach him now?” “They sang ‘Companions on the Journey‘ at Grandpa’s…
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 importance is paramount, as it is a frequently cited justification for the 20th-century liturgical reforms.…
Editor’s note: This article comes to 1P5 from an anonymous Catholic. People generally don’t enjoy being insulted. Being rejected by another person is painful, especially when it is your spiritual father. It is a natural reaction to want to reject the notion that you are the object of a sweeping, generalized insult such as being…
“Red-pilled” Catholic men these days who are thinking seriously about priesthood or religious life are wondering if it makes any sense to enter a Novus Ordo seminary or community. Could God be calling them to be “infiltrators” who usher in a more traditional future? Or should they interpret their growing love for the old Latin…
Introduction: A Time of Confusion Although it is now frequently claimed that the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) was never abrogated (totally abolished) following the Second Vatican Council, this position is squarely at odds not only with the lived experience of several generations of Catholics, but with the rapid and near total disappearance of the TLM…
