On the second of each month, we have a Mass (according to the 1962 Missal) offered for the previous month’s benefactors by the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem in Charles Town, West Virginia. But I wanted to do something extra for everyone who has so generously helped us to get to where we are.…
Last night, I got an email from a donor: Did you make your 2015 fundraising goal? I sent a last-minute donation and would to know if you made it. Can’t find the info. The reason the info wasn’t visible is that we archive our fundraisers at the end of each month. We do this so we…
My long-time Internet pal Hilary White has an article up at The Remnant about her life as a Benedictine Oblate in the Italian town of Norcia. It’s beautiful: For me, as a Benedictine oblate and a rather halfhearted do-it-yourself unofficial hermitess, the whole town is a monastery. St. Philip Neri was said to carry around with him…
During college, I attended a Melkite Rite parish of mostly Lebanese origin. It was during my time there that I became painfully aware of the persecution of Christians by Islamist extremists throughout the Middle East, especially Syria, which borders Lebanon. Parishioners spoke with startling familiarity of the persecutions which their own acquaintances and even relatives…
Beginning on Christmas Eve, I walked away from the website. I took my wife and children to midnight Mass and stayed up way too late putting presents under the tree while enjoying some excellent bourbon. On Christmas day, we exchanged gifts, then feasted together with those of my siblings and their families who were in town…
Some people say Islam is a religion of peace. Others, that it is a religion of war. Some say that the recent massacre of Christians by ISIS was not in accordance with Islam. ISIS claims they were acting in proper accord with Islamic teaching. From celebrities and major political figures to priests and bishops within…
As we look back over 2015 — good, bad, and ugly — there’s no question that it’s been quite a year. It’s time for us to withdraw into the peace and joy of the coming of the Christ child, to spend time with friends and family, to feast, to drink good wine, and to play…
It’s here. The last one. It’s relatively short — only 20 minutes — but I spent a good bit more time than that putting it together. It is a Christmas reflection. You can listen to it here. I hope you enjoy it.
Over at her blog, Studio Matters, Maureen Mullarkey has a beautiful reflection on St. Joseph’s own acceptance of the Christ-child, through the lens of an ancient carol: The Cherry Tree Carol is a seasonal jewel. It dates back to the cycle of mystery plays performed in Coventry during the Feast of Corpus Christi, around the year…
I’m a content guy, not a fundraiser. I’m good at the part of my job that gives our work away for free, and bad at the part that actually pays the bills. We’ve been really struggling to make ends meet, and we’ve fallen short of our monthly fundraising goals during every single month of 2015.…
