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…
Catholic with a small c, my catechism taught me, means universal. Our Faith’s long history, unique claim to the Truth, and geographic spread make it an ideal and never-ending source of visual projects. Daniel M. Koenemann’s cheering article on the global spread of Latin Masses is one of the latest Catholic map-based projects on the…
On March 8, 2012, the Jesuit magazine America published an article by Fr. Peter Schineller entitled “The Tridentine Mass: Why I Couldn’t Go Back.” For years, I’ve noticed that America actually pays to promote this article in online searches so that it will influence public opinion (they are evidently worried about the direction the youth…
It is said that the knowledge of Church history is a consolation. Most often this is meant in the sense that, for those who are troubled about the Church in the present age, all you have to do is look back at the history of the Church and you are sure to find an era…
Recently, I bumped into a friend who expressed her surprise that 2019 was the first time I had ever attended the pre-1955 (i.e., ancient or unreformed) Holy Week liturgies. She was under the impression that someone who travels, reads, thinks, and writes a good deal about the sacred liturgy would surely have done this long…
Imagine you’re in a movie theater watching the latest blockbuster, thoroughly captivated by the plots and subplots, the beautiful faces and lush scenery as the movie progresses inexorably toward its climax. Your cell phone alerts you to an incoming call. (Of course, you silenced the ringer before the movie began.) Much as you hate the…
As the Vatican continues its bizarre feud with the venerable Roman Rite, going so far as to prohibit the offering of the Ancient Mass in St. Peter’s upper basilica (the very Mass for which that basilica was built), it is delightful to be able to share some very good news. Benedictus, the “Traditional Catholic Companion,”…
This morning, I awoke to a message from an associate in Asia. He writes: “I know you don’t want to write negative stuff anymore, but this is terrible. No more private Masses in St. Peter’s. So many altars will be desolate, then.” He attached a link to the following letter, in Italian, from the Vatican…
For the past two years, our family has been attending Mass in the Extraordinary Form exclusively, save for a couple of times where I found myself at the Novus Ordo by necessity. Though we attend a Diocesean TLM, I have also had the opportunity to attend traditional masses with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter…
The German novelist Martin Mosebach, who has also become well known for his eloquent and outspoken defense of the traditional Latin Mass, articulated a particular problem that many in the Church today face — namely, the problem of a certain self-consciousness and critical spirit invading our prayer life as Catholics. Here is how he puts…
It is a dark and quiet night, and my family has just finished a rosary in our lonely parish church. Thank God that we have access to the building. As we head to the exit it is impossible to ignore the many little white boxes covering a table near the door, waiting for pick up.…
