One night, many years ago, I found myself embroiled in an unusual argument at a bar on Second Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. For reasons I have long forgotten, I mentioned the Mona Lisa to a young lady sitting there on the barstool next to me. She remarked that she did not care for the Mona…
The Council had been over for less than a year. Catholics were excited and confused. Different moves towards implementation, sometimes contradictory, were rumored. Already Catholic liberals were hard at work to lead the Church in their direction. What was Rome to do? After fifty-five years, we know what Cardinal Ottaviani, one of Cardinal Ratzinger’s predecessors…
(Editor’s Note: This is Part III of a three-part series: “Leading a Traditional Catholic Life in a Time of Civil War.” Part I can be found here, and Part II can be found here.) In the first part, I spoke of how easy it would be to get discouraged by the renewed assault on the…
A teacher is taking his class on a tour of a grand art gallery. The students are fluttering with excitement at the chance to view some of the world’s most cherished pieces. As they pass through security, the voice of their teacher halts them from advancing further. “Ok, everyone needs to stay with me. No…
In 2019 I was being deployed to Bellevue. Significant portions of Nebraska and Iowa were underwater following a devastating storm, and I was to head up Operations. As I’ve done in anticipation of other disaster response deployments, I looked for local churches that might still be open. I found Immaculate Conception in Omaha, an FSSP…
In response to Traditionis Custodes, TLM communities around the world are being asked to participate in a worldwide consecration fo the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 15, 2021. The Holy Catholic Church is in an unprecedented world wide crisis. The only hope for the Faithful is a Divine intervention, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart…
(Editor’s Note: This is Part II of a three-part series: “Leading a Traditional Catholic Life in a Time of Civil War.” Part I can be found here, and Part III here.) In the first part of this series, I spoke of some of the temptations facing traditional Catholics in the era of Traditionis Custodes, and…
It was August 1940. Churchill was fighting the Battle of Britain. Half of Europe was under the Nazi boot. The Catholic Church in Germany was being persecuted, and the German bishops were gathered for their annual conference. To what grave matters might they have devoted their energies at such a momentous time? Being German bishops some could…
When Traditionis Custodes is carefully considered, it’s clear that it’s not just an indictment against the celebration of the ‘Old Mass’, but instead an attempt to squash the traditionalist revival in the Church. In fact, some commentators have gone as far as calling the motu proprio a declaration of total war against traditionalists everywhere. It’s…
“Destroy the Four Olds.” This slogan was central to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, launched in Beijing in 1966. What were the Four Olds? Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Habits and Old Customs. The destruction began simply, with the renaming of streets, stores, and even people, who exchanged their traditional Chinese names for revolutionary ones like “Determined Red.”…
(Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a three-part series: “Leading a Traditional Catholic Life in a Time of Civil War.” Part II can be found here, and Part III here.) The past two weeks have been highly emotional for many Catholics. We felt anger, and justifiably so. We talked incessantly about what had happened,…
