Prummer defines scrupulosity as “a state of groundless fear rather than the judgment of a sound mind” (no. 144). He identifies the signs of scruples: an excessive anxiety about previous confessions, protracted accusations of irrelevant details, stubbornness that refuses to accept the decisions of the confessor. Scruples affect a soul devoted to God and sensitive…
There was a time before my own married and family life that a friend of mine slyly described this vocation as “a beautiful bed of roses … only that somebody forgot to de-thorn the roses.” I am told that much like married and family life, clerical life also frequently gives a dose of prickling reality…
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1–10 Gospel: Mark 7:31–37 O almighty and everlasting God, who in the abundance of Thy loving kindness art wont to go beyond both the merits and prayers of Thy suppliant people, pour down upon us Thy mercy: that Thou may forgive us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and grant us…
OnePeterFive is pleased to share the following homily from a priest of the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest. Canon Francis Altiere, ICRSS is rector of Old Saint Patrick Oratory in Kansas City, Missouri. This homily was first preached on the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost in 2018; it has been slightly modified for publication.…
In October of 1917, to the general amazement of Marxists and secularists, on a foretold date, 70,000 eyewitnesses saw the supernatural Miracle of the Sun. The Immaculate Virgin foretold the rise and fall of the diabolical sect of atheistic Communism, and the terrible persecutions it would raise up against Christendom and the Church — prophecies…
“The mind will protect itself from having to face something intolerable.” As I read a recent article by Rod Dreher, this line in it resonated with me. Perhaps it accessed that part of the attic where my brain stores my psychology studies. The paragraph containing that line begins with a reference to “cognitive dissonance,” a…
July 17, 2019 saw the dedication of the new “Christ Cathedral” of the Diocese of Orange, California. An originally Protestant work of high modernist architecture repurposed on a staggering budget, the cathedral has understandably been the subject of animated discussion among its ardent proponents (such as Rev. Msgr. Arthur A. Holquin, who offers a guide…
Viganò vs. the Vatican: The Uncensored Testimony of the Italian Journalist Who Helped Break the Story Marco Tosatti Sophia Institute Press 144 pages $14.95 paperback, $9.95 e-book August 26 marks the one-year anniversary of the explosive publication of the testimony of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. It is a good moment to take stock of all…
Late in June, we received a warning from a village on the edge of Tuscany that yet another religious house with the wrong sort of mindset was facing the now dreaded prospect of a Vatican “visitator.” The contemplative Dominican monastery of Marradi, the spiritual heart of the little mountain town for over four centuries, is…
For many Catholics, it is not easy to understand the importance of Latin in the life of the Church. In February of 1962, on the eve of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII wrote: “Major sacred sciences [in seminaries] shall be taught in Latin, which, as we know from many centuries…
A few months ago, when my family was cleaning out some old books, I came across my mid- 1980s glossy gold First Communion textbook. The book held such promise within its covers. Surely, it provided a glimpse of the treasures of our faith within its pages: Our Lord coming to us in the Eucharist, what…
