Our holy Faith forbids us to say that our salvation is entirely assured in this life and that we cannot fall from grace before we come to our particular judgment and accordingly be damned. The Council of Trent labels such … 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.
How to Become Divine
Satan lied to Eve, but his lie had a couple of grains of truth to it. He said that the reason God did not want Adam and her to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was because, … Continue reading
Exploring Nature to Find God
Our readers may be aware that here at Saint Benedict Center, we have a scouting apostolate affiliated with the Federation of North American Explorers (FNE). The FNE has enshrined the following as point six of its Explorer Law: “An explorer … Continue reading
Catholic and Patriotic
Patriotism is a great virtue. To be a patriot is to love one’s fatherland. This means that it is to love the land of the people that sired you. Patriotism is a natural overflow of the virtue of piety — … Continue reading
Identity
This Ad Rem is a brief introductory speech I gave at IHM School’s graduation on Trinity Sunday. As Prior, I am expected to say something; mine is not the main feature. Readers should know that our school in rural southern New … Continue reading
Condemning Modernity
O tempora o mores! Thus did Cicero famously lament the affairs of men in his own day. And while the First Catiline Oration might seem a strange place to begin a piece on condemning modernity (it being part of antiquity, … Continue reading
The Troubles in the Church Began with _____.
Robert Hickson told me about a friend of his, a Greek, who appeared to be gloomy one day. Robert noted this in an effort to show sympathy, and his friend replied that yes, this is true; he had been demoralized … Continue reading
Helping Sinners Along
Readers may be acquainted with the old saw about “lies, damn lies, and statistics.” But whether or not we put much stock in the statistics generated by sociologists and their polls, well known social and ecclesiastical trends would lend credence … Continue reading
What Happened in the Tomb?
A blessed Triduum and Easter to all our readers! Every year around Holy Week, the publishers of America’s popular reading material let loose a volley of blasphemies against our Lord’s Resurrection. Citing one or another perfidious “noted scholar,” the glossy-covered … Continue reading
Heresy of the Day
When I was a young lad, my grandfather, who was not a big joke teller, and who spoke nothing but French till he was sent to school, once entertained himself enormously by telling me this little joke: A man in … Continue reading
The ‘YUM’ Factor
There were many interesting reactions to my piece, “The Yuck Factor.” Some accused me of Manicheanism, Islamic voluntarism, “rantings and ravings against gay and lesbian people,” insanity, “innate, inbred bigotry,” and being simultaneously a “closet gay” and a “homophobe.” Others … Continue reading
The Yuck Factor
In our increasingly superficial culture, many moral decisions are made based on surface appearances, emotional reactions to those appearances, and an alarming lack of intellectual or volitional activity to check those emotional reactions. This has serious ramifications for all of … Continue reading
Education in the Broad Sense
The great mandate to the Church can be called “educational,” for Jesus commanded His apostles to make disciples of all nations. A disciple is one who learns. One who “makes” a disciple teaches him. Ergo, the Church’s mission is (largely, … Continue reading
Quaint Theories of Modernity
In his humorous but informative documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” Ben Stein refers to Darwinism as a “quaint nineteenth-century theory.” This is what is known as “damning by faint praise,” and it is a commonly employed rhetorical device. Oftentimes, it … Continue reading
The Vows and Oaths of Christendom
In a conversation with some of our conference speakers, who are also all contributors to this web site, the question “What is Christendom?” was presented for our consideration. The hope was expressed that these writers would each offer his thoughts … Continue reading
