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The Innate Qualities of the Child

Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (1877-1964) was one of the greatest theologians of modern times. He was a staunch anti-modernist, who engaged and exposed the twerpy upstarts responsible for the neo-modernist Nouvelle Théologie (”New Theology”). Much more than a controversialist, the Dominican Friar could write of the deepest spiritual truths with a relish and lucidity that make his theology engaging to study.

In a series of three Ad Rem, I purpose to present his thoughts on “spiritual childhood.”

by Brother André Marie March 11th, 2010

‘England should be a Catholic country again’


Brother André Marie

That’s the motion that was debated last week in London, at an event hosted by the Spectator and held at the Royal Geographical Society. And guess what — “the 700-strong sell-out audience voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion”!

Excerpt from The Catholic Herald:

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, author Piers Paul Read and Dom Anthony Sutch, former headmaster of Downside, spoke for the motion.


No Way to Anime


Brian Kelly

Anime cartoons and their characters are a huge cultic phenomenon, the most popular of all escapist media venues. It is very addictive and very dangerous, to the soul and the mind. I don’t post weird stories, but this blog by Zoe Romanowski from Inside Catholic, along with another, even …


CDF Prefect Affirms: ‘Union with the Catholic Church is the goal of ecumenism’


Brother André Marie

One of the commentators on the relevant CWN article expressed it well: “It’s past time someone said this. Too often ecumenism is taken to mean the weakening of the teachings of the Church and the addition of non-Catholic ritual and beliefs.” A-m-e-n-!

Past time is better than no time — or, “better late than never.” All the scandal that has transpired, and is ongoing, in the name of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue should cease at these words of Cardinal Levada defining its purpose (or “final cause” to you Aristotelians out there): “Union with the Catholic Church is the goal of ecumenism.”


2010 Saint Benedict Center Conference


The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our 2010 conference will be held on October 8 and 9 at Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire.

The information currently available is as follows:

Theme: “The Romance of Wisdom”

Cost: $100 for both days (Friday and Saturday). This includes meals. Single days without meals: $40.

Note: This year, Friday and Saturday will both be full days. There will be eight speakers giving presentations in addition to the master of ceremonies, our Prior, Brother Andre Marie.


Why Buddhism Is Open to Suicide


Brian Kelly

Archbishop Alberto Bottari de Castello, apostolic nuncio to Japan, has a very perceptive insight into the subversive effects Buddhist doctrine  has on the soul of a suffering devotee confronting hopelessness.  From Sandro Magister’s latest column: “Why Life is Worth So Little in Prosperous Japan.”

“The Japanese do not have a personal …


Is the False Apparition in Medjugorje Finally to Be Condemned?


The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

[March 5, 2010 - Rome Reports (with hat tip to Rorate Caeli)]

Benedict XVI has formed a commission to investigate if Our Lady truly appeared in Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia.

The commission is part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Camillo Ruini will preside over the commission. Ruini is the pope’s former vicar of Rome’s diocese. Ruini goal will be to explain to the pope what’s happening at the sanctuary which has become the third most visited in Europe.

Allegedly, at least 6 people have witnessed the Virgins apparitions there since 1981.


Yet Another Defense of Pius XII


Brother André Marie

When the enemies of the Church, the enemies of Christianity in general, and those who want to “hold” the Catholic hierarchy’s “feet to the fire” constantly jabber about Pius XII’s supposed complicity in the Nazi murder of Jews, it becomes necessary to defend the truth as well as the honor of the Holy Father. He was, after all, not only innocent of the crime of which he stands accused by an angry mob, but was also proactive in the protection of innocent Jews. That’s history. Catholics have a particular duty to defend the Church’s honor, but even secular historians of the era ought to vindicate Pius XII, if only to protect the integrity of their science.


The ‘Woman’ of Genesis


Brian Kelly

In changing the traditional Douay-Rheims rendering of Genesis 3:15 from “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” to the Catholic Revised Standard Version translation (based on the King James Bible), “I will put enmities between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel,” the scriptural foundation for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is compromised. So, too, is the traditional doctrine concerning Our Lady’s essential role in salvation history, which has been translated into her more modern title of “Co-redemptrix.”


Iraq’s Dechristianization Continues


Brother André Marie

“The United Nations estimated that 683 Christians fled Mosul between February 20 and February 27. Chaldean Catholic Bishop Emil Shimoun Nona of Mosul estimated that ‘about 400 families’ had left the city’s community of 4,000 Christians.”

This disheartening data comes from an article in Catholic World News. The Iraqi Catholic bishops themselves are bemoaning the situation. But that’s not all they are doing; they are also praying, fasting, and organizing their people to protest peacefully. The facts are not to be denied, and they are not the “spin” of liberal news pundits trying to make a Republican effort look bad.


Manchester Bishop John B. McCormack to Lead Pilgrimage for Brother André’s Canonization


The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Bishop John B. McCormack is inviting New Hampshire Catholics to join him on a pilgrimage to Rome and other Italian holy sites from October 15-25 in celebration of the canonization of Blessed Brother André Bessette.

Pope Benedict XVI recently announced that Blessed Brother André will be formally declared a saint at a ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square on October 17, 2010.

The pilgrimage will be organized by Canterbury Tours of Bedford, NH. It will also include visits to other Italian holy sites in Rome, Assisi, and Siena.


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The Four Last Things

Some articles may overlap between this section and the spiritual life, but, in general, here you will find any postings that treat of death, the judgment, heaven, or hell. Purgatory also fits into this category, closely associated as it is with judgment. Three of the four last things are inevitable for us all. The purpose of meditating on these realities is to instill a wholesome fear of God and a dread of His power, especially His power to cast into hell. Eternity may also be a proper subject for this section because it is the measure of duration that the saved will experience forever. Technically, the life of the damned is everlasting, not eternal. Only God lives in eternity, for that immutable now belongs to His own nature, which is without beginning or end, past or future. The blessed share in His eternal life, so their everlasting happiness, or beatitude, is also called eternal life. The beatific vision of God is eternal life. “This is eternal life,” Jesus taught His apostles, “to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent” (John 17:3).

Aug 20
Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

Who is next?

by Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.August 20th, 2009

It need not be the one, expecting to depart,
The one with the ailing lungs or failing heart.
Not always one engaged in a bloody strife
Or one embracing danger in a ventureful life. Read More »

Father Charles had just finished his sermon on Hell. Being a good orator — partly his native “Irish gift,” partly his good seminary training and experience — he had kept the congregation on the edge of their seats. True, the chandelier falling midway through the sermon (causing one lady to faint), added some dramatic tension, but this sermon was good even without the unintended special effects. As the preacher was taking off his surplice and stole in the sacristy, a native-born Irish lady entered therein, to say that his was a superlative piece of sacred eloquence. The priest thanked her graciously. Read More »

The doctrine of hell is certainly not one of our faith’s more consoling teachings. Neither is it especially attractive to outsiders (ever hear someone say, “I converted because of your teachings on hell”?). Nor, finally, does it produce the most elevated sentiments in the human heart, as do meditation on Our Lord’s Passion, traditional Marian piety, or the sublime grandeur of the sacred liturgy. But the truth of this article of faith is attested to by our meek and loving Savior just as strongly as any in our Creed — in fact, more so than most. Read More »

May 28
Brother André Marie

Apocalypse Now

by Brother André MarieMay 28th, 2009

Imagine that you are thrust into the most captivating film plot about the end of the world. Reality as it is portrayed in the most special-effects-ridden movie Hollywood can make, complete with a Hans Zimmer musical score, suddenly and inescapably absorbs you. Good and evil are in a war for ultimate dominion, and you — yes, you! — are decidedly hand picked to join the incongruous rag-tag army that will save humanity from the Ultimate Evil. Read More »

Several bloggers specializing in defaming us and our Catholic apostolate have recently leveled the vicious libel of “racism” at us. To answer some questions these postings have generated, I offer the following observations.

The accusation that Father Feeney and Saint Benedict Center are “racist” is utterly false and libelous. We deplore and condemn racism of any sort. The accusations, copied on various blogs, cite the same witness as an authority. Read More »

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(Last time, I promised to follow up Ad Rem 89 with some concrete advice. This will come, God willing, but first something more timely for November.)

Fingerprints burned into a prayer book. A clearly visible charred hand print on a wooden table. Similar marks on shirt sleeves, a night cap, and aprons. These are among the curiosities to be seen in Rome’s Purgatory Museum. Read More »

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Every evening we come before our Blessed Mother, bringing her a collection of our day’s efforts. She gracefully produces a gift of value and, in November, we are emboldened to ask if any of it could be applied to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

November is the month dedicated to the Holy Souls, and they are then especially, during these thirty days, entitled to the help of the Church Militant in reducing their sufferings. Read More »

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I’m back from this two-week trip to Rome, but I haven’t gotten the Eternal City out of my mind. Not by a long shot. Thus, this entry, which has a ghoulish picture in it. I think it’s an appropriate meditation on death for November.

In Rome there is a famous church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, and run by the Capuchins. What is most famous about this church is nothing in the church itself, but the nearby crypt cemetery, which the Capuchins decorated in a macabre way. Read More »

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This article is from the English Weekly Edition of L’Osservatore Romano : N. 27 — 2 July 1990 — Page 5.1 It takes up nearly all of that page, with only a few “News briefs” at the bottom. Read More »

Summary:

1. News Notes.

2. Cardinal Biffi and Soloviev’s Antichrist. Read More »

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