June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the last few years, a collective of public relations consultants and groomers have also named it “Pride Month.” If you have not heard — in which case you have … 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.
‘Extra Ecclesiam’ and the Hierarchy of Virtue: Reply to an Objection
Someone recently told me: you’re right about no salvation outside the Church, but that’s not the most important thing. Love is. The novelty of the objection interested me because it was not a denial of extra ecclesiam nulla salus, nor … Continue reading
The Powers Latent in Your Families
Next week, I will be in Louisiana, participating in an event organized by Mike Church, “The Fellowship of The Clans” Crusader Congress. I was given a curious talk title to address: “Harnessing the Power of Family over State.” Rather than … Continue reading
Fortes in Fide (Again)
The true religion is not reducible to a bumper sticker or “meme,” but there is a venerable tradition, rooted in the Old Testament wisdom literature, of packaging hefty drafts of divine truth in small shots. These proverbs or aphorisms have … Continue reading
Your Passiontide Micronarrative
On the very first page of his mammoth, magisterial two-volume tome, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Père Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (1877-1964), states a fundamental truth concerning man’s inner life as it is constituted by nature. Then, as one … Continue reading
Concerning the March 25, 2022, Consecration of Russia
Update: Just as I was posting this on our site, this news came to my attention: Pope Francis now says he will consecrate ‘humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine’ to the Immaculate Heart. I do not see the need to edit … Continue reading
Hitting the High Notes in Lent and in Life
Musicians, actors, and other performers can be very clever at employing mental exercises to improve their performance. When I was a teenager, my older brother, Charles, told me that he had been directed by one of his teachers to read … Continue reading
Memory and Our Catholic Metanarrative
Memor fui óperum Dómini: quia memor ero ab inítio mirabílium tuórum. (“I remembered the works of the Lord: for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning.”) — Psalm 76:12 When he received the Templeton Prize for Progress … Continue reading
Sloughing off Slothful Sadness
In the writings of the Desert Fathers, the reckoning of what we call the “deadly” or “capital” sins was not exactly the same as the familiar list of seven that we now have: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and … Continue reading
Some Consequences of Jesus’ Kingship over Our Hearts
By now, I hope that all our readers have read Gary Potter’s latest excellent piece on this site, Christ is King of More Than Our Hearts. Gary’s lesson, implied in the title itself, is that the social reign of Our … Continue reading
For the Love of This Child
As we look at a Christmas crèche, a question should come to each of our minds: What will I do for the love of this Child? Perhaps some who chance upon these lines will think the question untimely. Christmas, they … Continue reading
Our Catholic Grand Narrative versus Satan’s Minions’
There is a story that wise men tell of an Enchanted Infant once born into this world. He was, they say, so ancient that nothing created came before Him; yet His birth into this world was attended by all the … Continue reading
Christian Hope in Contrast
One of the major themes of the Church’s Advent liturgy is hope as exemplified in the lovely hymn, Rorate Caeli. That this is a season of hope is something of a commonplace in considerations on these first four weeks of … Continue reading
Religious Sisters, an Appreciation and an Appeal
Pax Christi. In this Ad Rem, I offer a brief reflection on religious life and especially on female religious; I give a long overdue public appreciation of our own Sisters here at Saint Benedict Center; and, finally, I make an … Continue reading
A Letter to Employers on the Ethics of the COVID-19 Jabs
In recent months and especially recent weeks, I have been asked by several individuals to provide letters for them as they seek religious exemptions from draconian COVID-19 “vaccine” mandates. As many of these drugs do not fit the definition of … Continue reading
