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
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 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
The Power and Glory of the Priesthood
A dedicated and much loved Catholic priest, who has been ordained just over a decade dies at the age of forty-nine. It seems like a tragedy, especially since many were dependent on him for the traditional liturgical life that he, … Continue reading
Defending the Domestic Church
Two writings recently emanated from officials very high in the Holy See concerning marriage and the family. The statements are frank and blunt, especially by today’s standards. The first was penned by Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the Prefect of the … Continue reading
The Reign of the Holy Ghost
The Church’s calendar is soon to reach its dramatic terminus. We are yet in the lengthy last part of it, the Pentecost cycle, which, this year, began on Sunday, May 19. Since, liturgically, we are in the Reign of the … Continue reading
The Illiberality of Religious Liberalism
When speaking of liberalism, it is important to define our terms, for if we do not, certain assumptions will be made, with reference to the popular lexicon of American partisan politics. This would be a grave mistake, for much of … Continue reading
Simian Antinomianism
The heresy of antinomianism received its name from Martin Luther, who, wrote against the more “extreme” doctrines of Johannes Agricola, the enfant terrible of Luther’s own novel doctrine of Justification by faith only. In brief, antinomianism — coming from anti … Continue reading
