Victory is a theme dear to the hearts of Catholics, and that’s partly why the feast of October 7 means so much to us: it’s the glorious day Our Lady helped us save Christendom at the battle of Lepanto. In …
How to Pray the Rosary at Mass
In this month of October, as the results of the Amazon Synod loom ominously on the horizon, let us consider how our fathers felt when they saw the Muhammadan fleets on the horizon at Lepanto in 1571. As all of …
A Pre-Synod Brain Dump
I hope you’ll pardon me if I offer some commentary that is a bit more stream-of-consciousness than usual. The storm is gathering, but life goes on. I’ve had a couple of days this week, mostly related to my children and …
Scripture & Tradition: Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6 Gospel: Matthew 22:34-46 Grant, we beseech You, O Lord, that Your people may avoid the temptations of the devil, and with pure minds follow You, the only God. – From the Collect for the Seventeenth Sunday after …
‘Virtually Impossible with an All-Latin Liturgy’: A Brief History of Active Participation
Although active participation may have dissipated as a liturgical rallying call, it remains an unusually revealing and concise way to track how the Church has evolved over recent decades. This was a new concept in regards to liturgy, and its …
Contemplative Religious: The Heart of the Church and the Measure of Her Health
The Church’s most urgent need… How would you define it? Here is how Bishop Athanasius Schneider once answered the question: Before we can expect efficacious and lasting fruits from the new evangelization, a process of conversion must get under way …
Bishop Barron, Taylor Marshall, and a Stonewalling on Hell
I recall arguing once with a Catholic friend of mine during our teenage years. He was from a big city far away and attended a publicly funded Catholic high school. I was a homeschooled boy from the country. The debate …
Understanding Sin: Suggestion and Pleasure
In my last piece on this topic a few people pointed out to me a glaring omission. Here I will attempt to remedy this and briefly discuss a few crucial distinctions that we must keep in mind. Suggestion to Sin …
Lord, Teach Us How to Pray
Prayer is man’s richest boon. It is his light, his nourishment, and his very life, for it brings him into communication with God, who is light , nourishment, and life. But of ourselves we know not what we should pray …
James Martin and the Pope: Message Received
On Monday, September 30, Pope Francis — the first Jesuit pope — sat down in the library of the Apostolic Palace with fellow Jesuit Fr. James Martin for a half-hour private audience. Gerard O’Connell, writing for the Jesuit-run America magazine, says, “It was their …
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