July is the month of the Precious Blood. In the traditional rite, the first day of the month is the feast of that name. In the Roman Martyrology, July 1 also commemorates Aaron the High Priest, the brother of Moses. … Continue reading
Category: «Ad Rem» A Fortnightly Email Message from the Prior
«Ad Rem» is our Prior’s fortnightly email message offering news and commentary regarding the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Crusade of St. Benedict Center, and issues affecting the universal Church. Each number offers brief, ad rem (“to the point”) commentary on timely or otherwise important matters. Click here to subscribe to our email list and receive the «Ad Rem» each time it’s published.
Do Something for a Catholic America
Speaking to a traditional priest friend lately, I asked him about his methodology. I noticed that this very effective cleric spent little or no time complaining about the state of affairs in the Church. In reply, he assured me that … Continue reading
The Hands of the King
The comical reaction I got from a television anchor may never leave my memory. When I told her that the people who lived under King Saint Louis IX of France were freer than we are now in America, she looked … Continue reading
Apocalypse Now
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 … Continue reading
The Lady, the Rock, and the Beast
The Kensington Runestone is a slab of greywacke stone — 36 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 6 inches thick — with a fourteenth-century runic inscription on it. Unearthed in 1898, in a rural area of Northern Minnesota, it was … Continue reading
The ‘Little Way’ of an Apostle
In the feedback from the Catholic America Tour, a common recommendation is that more “practical” considerations be woven into the presentation. Many are saying that the history is interesting and the examples are motivating, but practical “methods” are not sufficiently … Continue reading
Marian Consecration and the Conversion of America
The United States of America are badly in need of conversion. My readers, I think, will take this as axiomatic, so I shall not attempt to prove it. Instead, I would like to propose, in very simple terms and briefly, … Continue reading
Maundy Thursday and a Free Society
The Epistle for Maundy Thursday’s night Mass, Missa in Coena Domini, presents Saint Paul’s account of the institution of the Holy Eucharist. In it, the Apostle admonishes all who receive our Lord’s Body and Blood to examine their consciences, for … Continue reading
The Church and the Contraceptive Culture
In the recent row over the Holy Father’s statements about birth control devices, it was made very apparent how much the world hates the Church’s moral magisterium. Even bishops, shepherds of Our Lord’s flock, went on record opposing the teachings … Continue reading
The Way of a Man with a Maiden (on Courtship)
“Three things are too wonderful for me, yes, four I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way … Continue reading
The British Invasion
The Spanish and French strove to make America Catholic, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes the enemies of the Faith — both fleshly and ghostly — won out; at other times, the missionaries scored victories, as with Saint Augustine, Florida, … Continue reading
More Catholic Than You Think
This Ad Rem is being written at a distance from home (near Fort Worth, Texas, to be almost precise). It seemed a good idea to share with readers part of the message of the Catholic America Tour. Though the talk … Continue reading
A Prayer for the Distracted
This prayer may provide some helpful thoughts to the Christian who finds himself in Church, or anywhere, totally distracted and unable to pray. Please note that I have employed the capitalization standards of the Douay Rheims Bible, so as to … Continue reading
Why God Hates Sin
To hear the words, “God hates sin,” may, for certain modern men, invoke images of a deity too demanding to be very comfortable. Such moderns would find the proposition savoring of a dogmatism that borders on the primitive. For them, … Continue reading
The Right Stuff: On Barack Obama and the Conversion of America
Of what stuff are you made? Is it — to borrow a line from Saint Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons — “the stuff of which martyrs are made”? This is a question we would do well to … Continue reading
