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
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.
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
The Real Gospel of Life
The moral teachings of the Church are of a piece with her teachings on faith. Christ’s supernatural revelation to the Church, along with the natural law also entrusted to her, constitute a “seamless garment”1 of truth about God, man, and … Continue reading
Monologue with a Madman
Some months back, I received a telephone call from a sedevacantist madman who challenged me to a debate on whether Pope Benedict XVI is the pope. This individual should know that debates are not the way we do our apostolate. … Continue reading
Smashing the Hand that Feeds You
The Rorate Caeli web site posted this picture of a smashed statue of the Virgin of Lourdes. The statue lies in the Via Merulana, the lovely street that connects the Lateran Basilica to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, with … Continue reading
Right and Freedom: Our Conference in Summary
The Saint Benedict Center Conference, on October seventh and eighth, drew a diverse multitude from as far away as Florida, Idaho, and California to the Center’s New-England campus. The theme of the conference was “Right and Freedom: Catholic Considerations on … Continue reading
The Freedom and Exaltation of Holy Mother Church
Monsignor Charles Pope has penned a concise summary of recent anti-Catholic and anti-natural law actions of the nanny state: If You Find A Good Fight, Get In It! A similar clarion call for political action can be found on the … Continue reading
The Trinity and the Efficacy of Marian Consecration
On June 13, 1929, Sister Lucy of Fatima, while yet a Dorothean Sister, was privileged with a vision of the Most Holy Trinity. The vision happened in the convent chapel in Tuy, Spain. The Blessed Trinity appeared, with the Virgin … Continue reading
‘Freemen Established Under Grace’
At the end of the Rule of St. Augustine, the Doctor of Grace — who was also a monk and father of monks — enjoins his disciples to observe its precepts “not like slaves under the law, but like freemen … Continue reading
