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…
Last month, when I asked our supporters to tell us why they read us and support our work, I was overwhelmed by the responses. We got nearly 200 replies, and I wanted to share some more of them with you: Jeff writes: “When I read 1P5 I get the truth about issues other outlets either…
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:2-11 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14 O God who dost manifest Thine almighty power most chiefly in sparing and showing mercy: multiply upon us Thy mercy: that as we hasten towards Thy promises, Thou may make us partakers of the heavenly treasures. – From the Collect for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday’s readings…
Yesterday, I received a message from a young Catholic in Hong Kong, after I posted something on social media about their current plight. “I am a Hongkonger,” he said, “and thank you for your recent post on Hong Kong. There is much I would like to say but I am too grieved to find words…
Despite Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory’s administrative record on handling sex abuse, the new leader of the Archdiocese of Washington has already stepped from the narrow path of avoiding partisan politics in the nation’s capital. Fresh from leading the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Gregory agreed to answer impromptu questions from the laity. On August 13, he attended…
Dear Dr. Kwasniewski, I recently listened to your 1 Peter 5 podcast, which was really helpful to me. The part where you take us through the history of the philosophical ideas that were motivating the liturgical reformers at and after Vatican II was interesting and informative. Thanks to the podcast, I understand better the sort…
The Confession Aurelio Porfiri Chorabooks 106 pages $11.18 paperback, $6.70 Kindle Apple Books; Amazon At a moment when the seal of confession is coming under attack all over the world, Aurelio Porfiri has crafted a thrilling novel that illustrates the importance of the sacred space of the confessional for bringing evildoers to justice. This murder…
A century ago, on August 9 in Montecatini Terme, just southwest of Pistoia in north central Italy, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Neapolitan opera composer, died. His fame is linked to Pagliacci (“Clowns”), a two-act opera of 1892, which, together with Cavalleria rusticana (“Rustic Chivalry,” 1890) by Pietro Mascagni, is the most explosive reaction against Richard Wagner and…
The widespread acceptance of the falsehood promoted by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other influential Freemasons concerning man’s supposed natural goodness has resulted in extreme moral corruption and devastation for souls. In his premier encyclical on the secret society, Pope Leo XIII wrote, “Freemasons, having no faith in those things which we have learned by the revelation…
