August 6, the feast of the Transfiguration, is one that comes and goes very quickly in the excitement of the Summer — so much so, that it is often overlooked. But it has a number of important lessons that we … Continue reading
Author Archives: Charles A. Coulombe
Why King Arthur Still Matters
Hic jacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus. “Here lies Arthur, King Once, and King in the Future.” July is the month of the Precious Blood, and, as always, that focus of devotion brings to mind the Holy Grail — as … Continue reading
A Yankee Doodle Dandy?
A very odd thing happened to me the other day in Prague. Now Prague – like the other cities of the former Austria-Hungary – is a city I love to visit and never feel homesick in. Indeed, apart from missing … Continue reading
The Lights Shine in Darkness
Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a bright star twinkle for a while. The … Continue reading
The Theology of Make-Believe
Although Corpus Christi was — in keeping with Easter’s unusually early appearance in 2024 — on May 30 this year, it normally occurs in June. The Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi being the feast of the Sacred Heart, … Continue reading
Memorial Day
No more shall the war cry sever, Or the winding rivers be red. They banish our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead! Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment-day; Love and tears for the … Continue reading
Fighting the Malicious with the Miraculous
Yet when the city sleeps; When all the cries are still: The stars and heavenly deeps Work out a perfect will. —Lionel Johnson, “By the Statue of King Charles at Charing Cross” IN to-day’s world, it is extremely easy to … Continue reading
Good Saint George and the Dragon
April 23 is the feast of St. George the Martyr. As Dom Gueranger puts it in his usual stirring style: “Clad in his bright coat of mail, mounted on his war steed, and spearing the dragon with his lance, George, … Continue reading
Two Battles in April
Come listen to another song, Should make your heart beat high, Bring crimson to your forehead, And the lustre to your eye;— It is a song of olden time, Of days long since gone by, And of a Baron stout … Continue reading
Spring Meditations
One of the things moving from Los Angeles to Austria has taught me is the preciousness of Spring. That may sound a bit odd, but the truth is that in Southern California the lack of a snowy winter and the … Continue reading
A Celtic Survival Guide
March is a very Celtic month. St. David, patron of the Welsh opens the month on the first. Four days later comes St. Piran, Cornwall’s patron. On the 17th — as all the world knows — is St. Patrick, on … Continue reading
Thoughts on Washington’s Birthday
Well, Washington’s birthday has come to us again. Despite being called “Presidents’ Day” in recent years and celebrated on the nearest Monday, February 22 is the day that the first president of the United States was born — and, not … Continue reading
Thoughts on Lincoln’s Birthday
Well, Lincoln’s birthday has come around again. In recent years it has been to a great extent effaced, being amalgamated with Washington’s as Presidents’ Day. But in my youth it was very much a grand occasion. This had been the … Continue reading
Dealing with Betrayal
Honesty is such a lonely word Everyone is so untrue Honesty is hardly ever heard And mostly what I need from you —Billy Joel IF there is a single word that sums up the world in which we live, it … Continue reading
Surviving the Wasteland
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago. —Christina Rossetti The above words and Gustav Holst’s … Continue reading
