Context is important. We are in “Gesima” time, Pre-Lent, a time of preparation, for the time of preparation, for Easter. Holy Church, like our mothers, remind us that we have some chores coming due; she reminds us that Lent is around the corner: after this “Fiftieth” Sunday, Quinquagesima, in three days is Ash Wednesday and…
Dear Catholics who support the suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass, Following the publication of Traditiones Custodes and the subsequent Responsa ad dubia of said apostolic letter, many of you have inquired as to the reasons for our clinging to the Old Mass, which is the liturgy of the saints and of our ancestors. Many…
In my previous essay, Former Freemason Explains Freemasonry – pt. 1, I sought to clarify the term ‘Freemasonry’ (i.e., Free & Accepted Masons and Ancient Free & Accepted Masons) within its proper usage and delineation of being a religious fraternal organization, started in England in 1717, and consisting today of hundreds of autonomous craft Grand…
Editor’s note: for more on Freemasonry, see this essay from our contributing editor, Peter A. Kwasniewski. The first rule in war is to know one’s enemy, and yet the enemy of the Catholic, and of the Church Militant, is so shadowy we tend to not even know its name. Many Catholics, animated by charity and…
950 years ago, in the night between 22 and 23 February 1072, at the age of 65 a great figure in the 11th century Church, who was a hermit, diplomat, theologian and poet, died of a sudden illness in Faenza, northeastern Italy: St. Peter Damiani. Peter was born in Ravenna, northeastern Italy, in 1007 and,…
Owing to its density and complexity, the traditional Roman liturgy—and the same, of course, would be true of any traditional liturgy—gives rise to multiple “hierarchies” of participation, which I will call here “ecclesiastical, sanctuarial, and congregational.” What I have noticed is that a complex and subtle gradation is of the essence of the rite, although…
Editor’s note: OnePeterFive is beginning a series in which we will discuss the lives and teachings of the Doctors of the Church, with the articles released on the feast day of each saint. Each of these saints help us with our current crisis by reminding us that God raises up the saints to deal with…
The Wild Ride It took some time for everyone to adjust to the violent overthrow of thirteen years’ pastoral arrangements, policies, and attitudes by Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes (TC), not least because of the way it was promulgated, to come into immediate effect, on a Friday. The implications needed thinking through, canon law…
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…
In 1988, Archbishop Lefebvre told his followers that he was forced to disobey Rome and consecrate bishops. The agreement he had signed (which promised fidelity to the Roman Pontiff and confessed the validity of the Novus Ordo and all its Sacraments) would give him a personal prelature and episcopal power to continue the ancient Roman…
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…
