Our Divine Lord, hanging on the Cross in the sight of the assembled multitudes, insulted, scorned, and blasphemed by His enemies, turns to His Eternal Father, and beseeches Him to forgive them, for they know not what they do. Consider — 1. The charity with which Jesus prays. After a prolonged period of silence, our…
Painting: Christ Crucified (1632) by Diego Velázquez. Pauline mortification part one, part two/three. A fourth reason obliging us to mortification or abnegation is the necessity of imitating Jesus crucified. He Himself tells us: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily” (Lk. 9:23). St. Paul adds: For…
The following talk was given at a Call to Holiness event at Assumption Grotto in Detroit on Sunday, March 6, 2022. Please note that the sound quality in the video improves at the 2’15” mark, at which time the lapel mic begins working. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, at an…
The doctrine of the Gospel on the necessity of mortification is explained at considerable length by St. Paul in his epistles. Frequent quotation is made of his words: “I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway” (I Cor. 9:27). Likewise…
With a majority of German bishops now on record as voting for official permission for contraception and the legitimization of sodomy, it seems time to reexamine the irreconcilable contrast between two views of reality. The Church in her traditional Roman Rite frequently prays that we may receive the grace to “despise” (or, as Lauren Pristas…
Editor’s note: a powerful new book by well-known essayist and literary critic Anthony Esolen entitled In the Beginning Was the Word: An Annotated Reading of the Prologue of John was recently published by Angelico Press, from whom we obtained permission to share a part of it with our readers. Our own contributing editor Dr. Peter…
Lent is just around the corner, which means a season of fasting and penance is upon us. If you grew up outside of Tradition, Lent in your average Novus Ordo parish or Diocesan setting was nothing to write home about. The idea that you would actually do something difficult or that would cause any real…
Fasting is a Virtue which is Necessary for Holiness Among the many things from our fathers which are necessary for the restoration of Tradition, there are few things which are more neglected yet also more necessary than bodily fasting. Even among faithful Catholics who strive with zeal for the restoration of the Holy Mass and…
To see the true spirit of Christian mortification, we must consider what our Lord says about it in the Gospel and how the saints understood it and lived it. The Savior did not come upon earth to carry out a human work of philanthropy, but a divine work of charity. He accomplished it by speaking…
Editor’s note: without a doubt, it is spirit of the martyrs that must be rekindled in the hearts of the faithful in our age. Hence our serialization of St. Alphonsus’ great devotional work before Advent last year (which we hope to resume again soon, God willing). It is here that we find the great militant…
Editor’s note: below is a selection from the modern spiritual classic Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Every Day of the Year. This is reproduced with permission from Baronius Press. — Presence of God: I place myself in the presence of Mary Immaculate, my loving Mother, and listen to her invitation: “Come over to me…
