It was a Saturday afternoon in summer. It was bright and sunny. It was a “Saturday vigil” Mass for some green Sunday or other. I was twelve. The celebrant was the diocesan bishop, Theodore McCarrick. He was doing a parish visit. My memories of that Saturday at church were vivid even before “Uncle Ted” became…
Back in 2019, I had the opportunity to attend for the first time the Pre-55 Holy Triduum, and afterwards published an article here about the experience. This year, in 2021, came my first opportunity to assist at the Pre-55 Pentecost Vigil—and, once again, the experience was a triumphant vindication of the wisdom and beauty of…
“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…
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,”…
