Above: the old and new basilicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe. All photos by the author. In the year 1527 King Charles V of Spain spent Holy Week at the Franciscan Monastery of Barajo near the city of Burgos in northern Spain. Friar Juan de Zumarraga was the prior of the monastery at this time.…
In the movie Bridge of Spies, set in the depths of the Cold War, Tom Hanks’ character is a lawyer assigned to defend an accused and obviously guilty Russian spy. Meeting in prison for the first time, Hanks explains to the spy that everyone wants to send him to the electric chair. The Russian spy…
Above: the tomb of César Franck in Paris. Today is the bicentenary of the birth, which took place in Liège, in eastern Belgium, on December 10, 1822, of a composer and organist who, having lived almost always in Paris, was one of the most significant personalities of the French nineteenth century: César Franck. We remember…
Man’s purpose in life is to know, love, and serve God with all of his mind, heart, and strength. This succinct answer to the world’s most vexed question holds compelling poetic beauty. Its strong, rhythmic monosyllables are like the rap of a snare drum which steadies troops in the face of battle. Yet, one wonders,…
The sin of Peter recounted in Matthew 16 — “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (v. 22) — is the archetype of papal sins against the Mass. Note that Peter’s “rebuke” hinges on the avoidance of the Cross. The…
Last week I sent a message to you and other subscribers about our need for donations, but unfortunately very few of you responded. I am exceedingly grateful to those of you who did, but because our need is so urgent, I must write to you again. I must also stress how much we depend upon…
The team behind the popular Mass of the Ages documentary trilogy has announced our plans to create an online platform designed to increase Latin Masses worldwide. The platform will host the popular “Mass of the Ages” documentary trilogy; stunning short films; free training for priests, servers, and choirs; a global TLM finder that works at…
For this 2nd Sunday of Advent the Roman Station church is the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem where the wooden beams of the Cross and relics of the Passion brought to Rome by the Empress Helena were deposited and are venerated still today. Last week we were stationed at St. Mary Major where…
Above: engraving of Melchor Cano. Editor’s note: this article appears as a response to our article which included critical remarks about pre-Vatican II manualism, and is meant to be a balancing treatment on the period in theology. See also “The Authority of the Scholastics.” -TSF Note: This topic includes much confusion surrounding exactly the…
In the traditional calendar, December 2 is the feast of St. Bibiana, Virgin and Martyr. Having been imprisoned for her faith, she refused the sexual advances of her jailer, and was beaten to death with lead-loaded thongs. The Collect for her feast is magnificent: Deus, omnium largitor bonorum, qui in famula tua Bibiana cum virginitatis…
Death. It’s something we all experience, something that will always come. It is unavoidable, uncharitable, unalterable. When man reaches the end of his life, and his soul is torn from his body to its judgment, death not only takes place but engulfs any reality that we knew. How many of us really contemplate the reality…
