A good friend of mine of many years enjoys relating the story of his confessor’s admonition: “meekness is not weakness.” The priest — a famous Jesuit who has gone to his reward — was on to something. Reflecting on his … 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.
The Pope, the Church, and the Paraclete
We find ourselves living in exciting times during this season of Pentecost. Groups of Anglicans are gradually coming into the Church, thanks to the Holy Father’s November, 2009, motu proprio, Anglicanorum coetibus. A rapprochement is being negotiated between Rome and … Continue reading
Loving the Lost Cause
Within the last fortnight, I finished reading The Pope’s Legion, Charles Coulombe’s book on the Papal Zouaves. Besides being intelligently written and enjoyable, the book inspires because the subject matter is itself edifying. The Pontifical Zouaves were Blessed Pius IX’s … Continue reading
In Praise of Holy Desires
It is not true to say that the disciples of Father Feeney are against desire.1 Our public witness is directed toward bringing people to believe the true Faith, and to desire to enter Christ’s Body, the Catholic Church. God Himself, … Continue reading
Honoring the First Amerindian Saint
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is scheduled to be canonized on October 21, 2012. Less than a month before that, she will be honored by the pilgrims walking the annual “Pilgrimage for Restoration” to Auriesville, New York. Below, I reproduce a press … Continue reading
Ευχαριστώ! Ef Charisto! Thank you!
This Thursday, the Church celebrates that sacrosanct night when the High Priest of the New Law, Christ our God, instituted the Blessed Eucharist (εὐχαριστία – Eucharistia). This great Gift of God, which goes under various names considered under its different … Continue reading
Saint Augustine on Prayer
By the grace of God, your humble servant has recently completed his week-long Lenten retreat, which was followed immediately by the perpetual profession of two of our sisters on Passion Sunday, and today’s joyful Feast of the Annunciation. During my … Continue reading
Lenten Transfiguration
Christians are by grace what Christ is by nature. That is to say, the members of Christ’s Body (the Catholic Church) are deified so that we, too, can be called sons of God. By grace, we are so identified with … Continue reading
Guilt Transformed, Some Lenten Thoughts
The solemn fast of Lent is intended to convert us, to renew us, and to conform us more and more to Jesus Christ. This happens through the three means of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — which are most powerful when … Continue reading
Penance and the Conversion of America
Lent is on its way. During this penitential season of grace, the Church’s liturgy will put sentiments of penance on our lips and in our minds. She will also enjoin us, in various ways, to do works of penance. In … Continue reading
Christ’s Commission and Obama’s Mandate: A Teachable Moment
The big news in American Catholic circles is the Obama administration’s “contraceptive mandate.” This latest unethical intrusion of big government stipulates that employers, including religious institutions, provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and specific abortifacients such as … Continue reading
Traditionalism is an Affirmation
One of the most important things for a person to have is an identity. This is why names are so important to us. Adam was given power to name things in the Garden of Eden, showing that he had dominion … Continue reading
What We Have Seen and Heard
The true religion is not a book. It is a communion — a mystical body — by which man is united to God and therefore made holy, beginning in this life a relationship that is meant to continue for all … Continue reading
Pardon the Provocation, but ‘Merry Christmas!’
Dear Friends and Benefactors, A Christmas letter is conventionally an opportunity to express gratitude for the past, good cheer for the present, and hope for the future. This is a good convention, for these are three very Christian things. In … Continue reading
The Great Preparation
The Mystery of the Immaculate Conception is not something on the borderlands of the Christian religion; rather, it stands front and center in the true Faith. This is because the Immaculate Herself is so wrapped up in the divine decree … Continue reading
