THE AMERICAN ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW, Feb, 1944.

THE LEONARD FEENEY OMNIBUS. A Collection of Prose and Verse Old and New. New York, Sheed and Ward, 1943. Pp. xiv + 399. $3.00. Read More »

[Review of The World of Saint Paul, by Joseph M. Callewaert, Ignatius Press, 2011]

This little volume of fewer than two hundred pages is a fascinating look at Saint Paul, the person, the many places he evangelized, and his times. It reads like an adventure story, which it surely is – the great adventure of the Apostle to the Gentiles bringing the Good News to much of the civilized world of the first century. Read More »

Last week saw me at a secluded hermitage in Western New York for a week of R and R (rest and retreat). Thankfully, I was able to assist at a daily traditional Mass, pray, read, rest, and otherwise remain far away from the worries of administration. Then I came back to a hurricane, literally. Irene, whose name ironically means “peace” (Gk: εἰρήνη), ravaged some of the towns in Vermont that were on my route, and made life difficult here in bucolic Richmond, New Hampshire. Less than 24 hours after I drove on it, Vermont’s Route 9 was rendered untraversable.

There’s a parable here. Read More »

(A Little-Known Story: The Jesuit Missions in South America and How Their Success Led to the Dissolution of the Order of Saint Ignatius)

[Review of Black Robes in Paraguay: The Success of the Guarani Missions Hastened the Abolition of the Jesuits by William F. Jaenike. Kirk House Publishers]

This well-written book is a totally fascinating look at a period of New World history in an obscure place — at least for us North Americans. While the events described here may seem a part of the distant past, their repercussions — from the wilds of the southern half of South America, coupled with the political intrigues of the European courts — have been long-standing for the Catholic Church, the Americas, much of Europe, and as far east as the Russian Empire. Read More »

[Review of Brother André: Friend of the Suffering, Apostle of Saint Joseph, by Father Jean-Guy Dubuc, C.S.C. Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana]

How we all rejoiced last October when Blessed Brother André was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. As the first male Canadian-born saint, as well as the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Brother André’s sainthood gladdens the hearts of his followers all over the Catholic world, most especially in Canada and the United States. In the most recent book about this humble man, originally printed in French in 1996 and just last year in English, Ave Maria Press has given us the most up-to-date and complete story of Saint André’s life yet published. Read More »

[Review of The Battle for Oscar Six by Eugene R. De Lalla]

The Battle for Oscar Six: Life and Death in Vietnam – April, 1968, by Eugene DeLalla, LaSalette Publications, 2010 Read More »

[Review An American Knight by Norman J. Fulkerson]

Every war has its share of heroes. Vietnam was no different. One of the greatest and most decorated officers of that bloody conflict was John Ripley, USMC. Born in 1939, Ripley was the youngest son of very interesting parents. His father, “Bud,” was a Catholic Midwesterner from Illinois; his mother, a Virginia Protestant blueblood who swore that she would never marry a Catholic a conservative, or a Republican. When Bud swept her off her feet, she had to eat those words, for not only did she marry a man who was all three, she herself became all three! Read More »

In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood By Walt Brown, Ph.D. Center for Scientific Creation

This is a book written by a scientist about science. The scientist is also a Christian, and the motivation for his book is the reconciliation of science with the description of the origins of the earth described in the biblical Book of Genesis. As the title suggests, science provides compelling evidence for the creation of the features of the earth, not by eons of random chance processes (the Theory of Evolution), but in relatively short and recent time by unimaginable intelligence (God). Read More »

In Paul Badde’s recent book about Our Lady of Guadalupe, he writes, “The modern age began with this image. It has changed both the weight and the balance of the earth.” And yet, although she is the most famous woman in the world, represented in millions of images, she “has become the great unknown.” María of Guadalupe: Shaper of History, Shaper of Hearts was written as a record of the author’s personal pilgrimage and, by inviting the reader on a journey of his own, can serve as a remedy to our own ignorance or indifference. Read More »

How was it that a little Catholic girl – born in Italy – became one of the most powerful figures of the American Communist Party at the height of its power during the late 1930’s and 1940’s? The story of Maria Assunta Isabella Visono’s journey from a poor southern Italian village to the intrigues of Soviet Communist penetration of America is fascinating and frightening. It should be better known than it is. Read More »