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Tobias and the Priest’s Mother

Father Michael Jarecki is our chaplain. At ninety-two years of age, he is not yet quite as long-lived as Brother Francis (who died at ninety six), but he’s close. I fear that his recent hospitalization is a sign that he is soon to exit this world. Truth to tell, he wants to do just that, because, as he has told us many times, he wants to go to Heaven soon. Whether his departure is anon or no, I think a few words in tribute to this heroic alter Christus are appropriate now, even while he is still with us.

by Brother André Marie February 8th, 2010

Do We Need a New “Study” to Tell Us What We’ve Known for Fifty Plus Years?


Brian Kelly

Sometimes you just want to throw up your hands. Hey, we went through it in the 60s and 70s and 80s. Send your beloved son or daughter to a typical “Catholic” college and forget about having a “Catholic” young man or woman graduate. I know I am preaching to the choir here. I mean, lesbian “witches” teaching in theology departments, as one parent told me happened to his son in a Jesuit University in New Orleans; and this was not just that University, but other “Catholic” colleges gave similar tenures to radical feminists and other subversives. But, now we’ve had a “study.” 


Habeas Corpus


Brian Kelly

Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose feast day on the new calendar was yesterday, died at the age of forty-nine in the Cistercian monastery of Foss-Nuova on his way to the second ecumenical council of Lyons. He died on the seventh of March, 1274, exactly two months before the council opened. Even …


Update on Father Jarecki


Brother André Marie

Our chaplain, Father Michael Jarecki, is now back home after a three-day hospital stay. He needs more care and attention than he did prior to his recent illness. The brothers, with the help of visiting nurses, are attending to him 24/7. We thank everyone who prayed for him. And he, …


Father Michael Jarecki Hospitalized


The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our longtime chaplain, Father Michael Jarecki, was hospitalized Saturday evening at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, NH.  He has an infection in his leg. The problem is not life-threatening per se, but at Father’s advanced age (92), such a condition is of concern. We ask for you prayers for an indefatigable alter Christus, who has been wondrously conformed over the years to Christ the Victim-Priest. He is an edification to us all.


‘Dear Abe Foxman… You Infuriate Me’


The Philosopher

One need not be a neoconservative, a Rush Limbaugh fan, or a partisan of Israel to appreciate this Jewish lady’s frank words to Abe Foxman. I’m none of those things and I appreciate them immensely. She is not alone. There are many Jews who resent Foxman’s profiteering lefty-liberal …


Father Schmidberger, SSPX, Thanks the Pope


The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Father Franz Schmidberger, the German District Superior of the Society of St. Pius X, sent a message of gratitude to the Holy Father on the anniversary of the lifting of excommunications from the Society’s four bishops. Included in his video recorded message to the Holy Father were these comments:…


Sedevacantism and Schism


Brother André Marie

A recent little talk I gave on the sin of schism — part of my comments on the Chair of Unity Octave — prompted a question from one of my auditors: “Is sedevacantism schism?” I had to reply in the affirmative.

In the last analysis, sedevacantists reject the jurisdiction of the Pope over the universal Church. While their schism is different than that of most schismatics — who reject his authority in principle — they have withdrawn themselves from communion with the Vicar of Christ. Since that is precisely what schism is, sedevacantists are in schism.


Commentary on Dr. Jeff Mirus’ Commentary


Brian Kelly

Dr. Jeff Mirus has an article in the Commentary section of his Catholic Culture website called “The Coming of Christ in the Flesh,” in which he attempts to convince a biblical fundamentalist that people need not have explicit knowledge of, and divine Faith in, Christ in order to be saved. He says that this is the teaching of the Catholic Church, which Christ founded upon Saint Peter, and that, without the guidance of this magisterium, the Bible can be misinterpreted, even on so basic a teaching as whether or not explicit faith in Christ is necessary for salvation.


Democracy Our Downfall


The Philosopher

Patrick J Buchanan shows how those itching to spread “our way of life” throughout the world, instead of forming a pro-American network across the globe, are forging the alliances that will ultimately destroy us. It’s a form of geo-political suicide that seems inherent in democracy. Let’s dump the phony pieties; democracy is “the god that failed.” 


Chair of Unity Octave


Brother André Marie

Today begins the traditional Chair of Unity octave, originally planned to last from the feast of Saint Peter’s Chair at Rome (today) until the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul on January 25. The devotion has evolved into the “Week of Prayer,” since the removal from the calendar of the feast that opened the octave. But even in the 1962 rubrics, a priest may offer the votive Mass of Saint Peter’s Chair at Rome, so we still have our octave in the traditional rite. Readers may find an inelegant but useful PDF file with the appropriate prayers.


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  • Saint of the Day

      • Saint John of Matha (1213)
        He was the cofounder with Saint Felix of Valois, in 1197, of the Order of Trinitarians for the redemption of Catholic captives who were taken by the ... Read More
      • Saint Jerome Emiliani (1537)
        He was a Venetian noble and a soldier who was converted from a worldly life, was ordained a priest, and devoted his life to the poor, the sick and orphans.  He founded a Congregation known as the ... Read More
      • Saint Cynthia (Cinthia) (249)
        She was an Egyptian girl who was martyred under Decius.  Because she would not worship idols, her feet were tied to a horse and she was dragged through the ... Read More
  • Did you know?

    Christopher Columbus’ Ship

    The full name of Christopher Columbus’ ship was Santa Maria de la Inmaculada Concepcion (Holy Mary of the Immaculate Conception).  The great Discoverer had a devotion to Our Lady under this title long before the dogma of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception was defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX.  Too, just eight years previous to … …Read More »

Feb 7
Brother André Marie

Sexagesima Sunday

by Brother André MarieFebruary 07th, 2010

The Name. We are in Septuagesima season, which began last week, with Septuagesima Sunday — the name comes from the word for seventy. It’s about seventy days before Easter. Today is Sexagesima Sunday: about 60 days until Easter.

The Gospel. The Gospel today is the parable of the sower. We have the privilege of reading not only Our Lord’s words in the parable, but also his own exegesis of it, which he gave in private to the Apostles. These words in secret to the Apostles give us some insights into Our Lord’s teaching. And they may surprise us, for they sound harsh: Read More »

Feb 4
Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

Learning Unreality

by Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.February 04th, 2010

You have read and read and
read some more,
History, fiction, science, lore, Read More »

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First published in 1984, and more recently updated, Brother Leonard Mary’s analytical commentary and reference book, The Church of Salvation, is back in print. As a loyal and original disciple of Father Feeney, and, actually, of all the members of the order of Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Sister Catherine excepted) the one who knew Father the longest, Brother Leonard Mary has acquired an abundance of knowledge in his sixty years of religious life and seventy year association with Saint Benedict Center. He relocated to California with one other brother a few years after the death of Father Feeney (1978) and founded what he delighted to call the “Saint Benedict Center, West Coast.” There are now three brothers at that house, and they do excellent work for the Faith. Read More »

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Originally published in the 1950s and reprinted many times since, this is a Saint Benedict Center classic. Vignettes of each day’s saint provide uplifting introductions to the heavenly citizens honored by the Church throughout the year. This latest printing is updated to include recent saints and beati (like Bl. Frere Andre, Bl. Columba Marmion, St. Faustina and others), while keeping the traditional (pre Vatican II) Roman Rite calendar for all other feasts. Read More »

Feb 2
Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

Saint Joan of Arc

by Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.February 02nd, 2010

O valiant maiden of Orleans,
Leader in armies, model for heroines,
Inspirer of kings and queens;
O heaven instructed shepherdess Read More »

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My life is just one instant,
one passing hour.
My life is just a moment,
that skips and runs away. Read More »

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I promised last September that I would post answers to questions I received from a high school student about the angels. It’s been over four months now since I have done that. My apologies to anyone who was waiting for the next entry.

Does every human being have a guardian angel?

Yes, every human being, whoever was, is, or will be, has a guardian angel. Read More »

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Jan 26
Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

The Poets

by Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.January 26th, 2010

Let not the poets fool us,
They do not fly; they climb.
For even were they birds of flight,
Their wings are struck in lime. Read More »

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Did you know that the origins of Groundhog Day stem from a Catholic tradition? Or that the common pretzel was once a Lenten reward for the pious? Read More »

There are a good number of canonized saints who died before reaching thirty years of age: Saints Dominic Savio, Stanislas Kostka, Therese of Lisieux, Maria Goretti, Gemma Galgani, and Anne Line, one of the forty English martyrs, come to mind. Of course, when you speak of martyrs, we have those young valiant women who are honored in the Canon of the Mass, with the Nobis Peccatoribus. I am sure there are scores of others, who are canonized. Uncanonized? They are countless. It would be interesting to make a list of the young canonized saints. That’s an assignment that I have to commit myself to. Read More »

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