Above painting: St Catherine before the Pope at Avignon by Giovanni di Paolo (1403–1482), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. In chapter thirteen of his Gospel, St. Matthew recounts a famous parable of the Lord: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy…
This year the 1 May observance of the 2nd Sunday after Easter gives way in honor of St. Joseph, whom we venerate among his other many roles and titles as a patron of laborers and as the “Worker.” In contrast to what we see now in the Church, to create counterplay against the rise of…
Above: the sacrileges of heretics in the Catholic cathedral of Antwerp, 1566. The example that he has bequeathed to us, not only in his works but especially with his life, is ever timely and of lasting value. He teaches clearly that the apostolic ministry is effective and produces fruits of salvation in hearts only if…
Editor’s Note: In light of recent catechesis-related developments in Church news, we are publishing the remainder of this three-part series. Find Part I here. NB: For those seeking reliable Catholic catechisms, the Tradivox series is recommended. Calling for a change to Church teaching on sodomy, Cardinal Reinhard Marx recently insisted that “the catechism is not set in stone.” That…
Photo: Emperor Karl visiting the residents of Cortina D’Ampezzo, c. 1917. He was known by all during the war (especially his troops) to visit and comfort his people in their suffering. Editor’s note: as we announced a few weeks ago on the centenary of Blessed Emperor Karl’s birthday into heaven, we have chosen this great…
Photo: the blessing of the water for Baptism at Easter Vigil. By Allison Girone. “This is my body, which is given for you . . . This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:19-20). Of ecstasy—that is, standing outside oneself or going out of oneself—Our Lord…
Happy Easter! My hopeful prayer is that you experience, in this Easter Season, true joy in a personal encounter with the Risen Lord. The Church’s firehose of imagery and traditions and sacred liturgy has been blasting fully at our little drinking cups. Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum can overwhelm as we reach the apex…
Our Divine Lord, hanging on the Cross in the sight of the assembled multitudes, insulted, scorned, and blasphemed by His enemies, turns to His Eternal Father, and beseeches Him to forgive them, for they know not what they do. Consider — 1. The charity with which Jesus prays. After a prolonged period of silence, our…
Painting: Christ Crucified (1632) by Diego Velázquez. Pauline mortification part one, part two/three. A fourth reason obliging us to mortification or abnegation is the necessity of imitating Jesus crucified. He Himself tells us: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily” (Lk. 9:23). St. Paul adds: For…
Read the last chapter before this one Table of Contents Start reading from chapter 1 Chapter 15 Malthus my boy, I just received your message, and I thought it wise to send you a quick note. My mouth has not watered this excessively in quite a while. You see, a fish rots from…
Above: woodcut of Constantinople by Giovanni Andreas Vavassore, circa 1535. Editor’s note: see part 1 in this series: “Eastern Orthodoxy and the Pathology Against Charity.” The Fourth Crusade is perhaps the greatest wound of blood between Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. In the year 1204 crusaders came and sacked Constantinople, the greatest Eastern Orthodox city…
