August 10 will bring a truly important event for fans of sacred music and the Catholic fine arts in the Midwest. The critically acclaimed vocal ensemble His Majesty’s Men present their summer concert on Saturday, August 10, at 7:30 pm in Chicago’s historic St. John Cantius Church. His Majesty’s Men is an international ensemble: its…
Is it possible we have come to the point of saturation with the internet, with social media and the distraction culture in general? Are some of us finally getting to the point of looking for an escape back to the Real? I haven’t looked it up, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find statistics showing…
It’s become impossible to keep up with the activities of the relentless juggernaut known as the “LGBT community.” Seemingly every day, we see a new story more outrageous and shocking than the last. University professors and children’s book publishers are defending the practice of bringing young children to “Pride” events, not by downplaying their sex-fueled…
Allow me, if you will, a discursive break in a Friday blog post from my normal policy of not writing about other writers. Sometimes, a person generating enough bizarre commentary warrants a response. I am referring to Massimo Faggioli. Faggioli, whose name translates roughly to something like “Maximum Beans,” (a popular observation that apparently really bothers…
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11 Gospel: Mark 8:1-9 O God of hosts, to Whom all that is best belong, graft in our hearts the love of Thy name, and grant us an increase of true religion: that Thou mayest foster what is good, and with tender zeal guard what Thou hast fostered. – From the Collect for…
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a profound work of tremendous meaning, mystery, and beauty. For this reason, I think Catholics need to review just what the Mass is, considering that over the last 60 years many people were rendered ignorant, and those who did know have forgotten, a result of the strong Protestant…
The Church tells us we should venerate Sacred Scripture, study it, pray with it, because it is the Word of God spoken to mankind, to the Church, to the heart and mind of each believer. It is uniquely inspired by God Himself, free from error, and always beneficial to the soul [i]. Yet this does not…
“I support 1P5 because of your original, authentically Catholic content. 1P5 is my favorite site, hands down, for Catholic commentary.” – Julie I have a story to tell you, and I hope you’ll stick with me, because it gets way more interesting than I expected. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but…
Death, Memory, and Oblivion Toward the midpoint of his 1,000-page Aesthetics, Dietrich von Hildebrand describes the death of culture in violent terms: [U]ntil the beginning of the nineteenth century and the triumph of the machine, culture had not yet been strangled by civilization. The expression of the spirit, the gift of giving form … penetrated…
Identified in a private American collection, the harpsichord on which Gioachino Rossini learned to play came to light “That barbaric instrument” on which the composer in his adolescence was practicing “every day,” as we read in a letter of 18 October 1868, belonged to his teacher, Canon Giuseppe Malerbi. “The Swan of Pesaro” moved in…
This week’s Bastille Day in Paris featured a man flying around on a brand new flyboard prototype, designed by inventor Franky Zapata. This “future soldier” buzzed through the air above the crowds and underneath a sky clouded in the colors of France’s flag. In his hands, he brandished a rifle in the hopes of demonstrating…
