While Humanae Vitae is viewed today as the Catholic Church’s official response to the increasing acceptance of birth control within marriage, the actual teaching contained within Pope Paul VI’s landmark 1968 encyclical is much more profound and prophetic than many remember. Looking back over the past forty plus years since it’s release we can see…
Tonight, I was looking at photos of the March for Life. As I was scrolling through them, Ivan, my six-year-old, came into the room. “What’s that, Daddy?” He asked, as he looked over my shoulder. I found myself wondering if I should tell him. But then again, why not? Evil exists. It’s part and parcel of…
Poland, 1982: A young woman early into her fifth pregnancy sits in a doctor’s office at the end of an examination. “You know, ma’am, you really need to be more responsible about your fertility. You don’t have to breed like a rabbit.” The doctor – a dedicated communist – proceeds to write her a referral…
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt. 9:36) Last Sunday, there was a Mass in Luneta, the large urban park in Manila where a reported 6 million Catholics gathered to see Pope Francis – despite a typhoon. In the wind and the…
Below is an excerpt from an address given by Pope Pius XII to the Directors of the Associations for Large Families of Rome and Italy in January 20, 1958, the nineteenth (and final) year of his papacy. Throughout the address the Holy Father eloquently speaks of the joy, sacrifice and generosity so prevalent amongst those…
There’s a video making the rounds on Facebook depicting distribution of Communion during Sunday’s papal Mass in Manila. In it, we see various individuals — not a few of whom appear to be laity — placing the Eucharist in the hands of those in the front of the crowd to be handed back like common food.…
Much has been written about the artistic and architectural wreckovation which occurred in many parishes in the years immediately following the Second Vatican Council. The modern iconoclasts surveyed the Catholic landscape during those years looking for altars to smash and statuary to evict from some of the most beautiful sanctuaries imaginable. Traditional aesthetics and liturgical…
Editor’s note: this article originally appeared in the Spring, 1998 edition of The Latin Mass Magazine. It was written by the magazine’s then editor-in-chief, Fr. James McLucas, who has ever been a tireless crusader for authentic, reverent liturgy. Published in the time before the election of Pope Benedict XVI or Summorum Pontificum, when the availability of the Church’s…
While working a summer job in high school, one of my Catholic, male co-workers and I were leaving a building. I was ahead of him, so opened the door and stepped aside so he could pass. “Oh no!” He cried sarcastically, “You just emasculated me!” We then joked that a woman’s real role was obviously to…
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And…
At A Blog For Dallas Area Catholics, there’s some commentary on the Bishop Lynch story we published last week. The whole thing is worth a read, but what struck me was this bit: This is all about smoke and mirrors, spreading confusion, and advancing the ball a few yards further in the progressive-modernist cause. While you…
