But the Lord is the true God: he is the living God, and the everlasting king, at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his threatening. —Jeremias 10:10 And we know that … 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.
Increasing in the Knowledge of God
As we approach the Feast of the Epiphany, the intimacy of the Christmas Octave gives way to the universality of Christ’s three-fold “showing forth” in the visit of the Wise Men, the Baptism in the Jordan, and the Wedding-Feast of … Continue reading →
The Excellent Knowledge of Jesus Christ
Light is a medium of knowledge. By it, we see things, perceive things, know things. Advent marks the time of darkness before the coming of the light of Christ. Christmas, foreshadowed by the Jewish “Festival of Lights,” commemorates the entrance … Continue reading →
The Silent Woman
It is good to wait with silence for the salvation of God (Lam. 3:26). We’ve considered the Marian character of our present liturgical season in Maria’s Advent. Now I would like to reflect on one particular facet of Mary’s own … Continue reading →
The Challenge of Faith and the Hostility of the World
Anyone who believes the Gospels will accept it as fact that the world hates Jesus Christ and His Church — and always will. What we’re seeing in the current media brouhaha over contraceptive devices is only the most recent major … Continue reading →
Promising Salvation to Non-Catholics: A Sin against Charity
We all hate it when someone makes a promise and doesn’t keep it. “But you promised!” we will say, and, depending on the level of blame and sensitivity of conscience on the part of the offending party, the reaction can … Continue reading →
Last Call for the 2010 SBC Conference
Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my calves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage (Matt. 22:4). Our conference is all ready. … Continue reading →
The Four-Fold Wisdom
Brother Francis began his eight-part philosophy course with words to this effect: “We are starting a course on wisdom. And when it comes to wisdom, only a fool can think himself a worthy teacher.” He stated this with his characteristic … Continue reading →
The Romance of Wisdom
That wisdom could be “romantic” would strike many as odd. This is because, generally speaking, neither romance nor wisdom is properly considered. The former is mistaken for lust, while the latter is lost in a sea of empty esotericism, or … Continue reading →
Limbo and the Mystical Body: on the Borderlands of Dogma
In Salvation for Non-Catholics and Limbo, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus makes two arguments I would like to address. The first deals with limbo and claims that the lack of certitude that we have about the fate of unbaptized infants provides a … Continue reading →
New Ideas on the Church and Salvation
Dr. Jeffrey A. Mirus, of Catholicculture.org, has authored three commentaries on that site concerning the doctrine no salvation outside the Church: 1) Salvation for Non-Catholics: Not a New Idea, 2) Sound Off! Comments on Salvation for Non-Catholics, and 3) Salvation … Continue reading →
The End of the World as We Know It
Religiously, morally, politically, and even physically (thanks to its increasing obesity) our nation has been slouching towards Gommorah for many years now. We’ve made ourselves worthy subjects of the great big Nannie State that our own sloth and indifference have … Continue reading →
For the Honor of the Virgin
There are two dialogues in the Gospels that sectarians use to slight the honor of the Blessed Virgin, a thing all the more serious inasmuch as the words are utterances of Jesus Himself. They are the episode Our Lord’s Mother … Continue reading →
Liberal Education vs. Liberalism
At St. Benedict Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, our forefathers had a saying that epitomized their apostolate in the academic circles in which they moved: “We are against liberalism in religion, but we are for liberal education.” This was in the … Continue reading →
Saint Benedict Center in the News
RICHMOND, N.H. — Friday, June 25, 2010 — An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney has secured a $1.15 million settlement on behalf of Saint Benedict Center of Richmond in a lawsuit over the town’s unconstitutional zoning restrictions. The center contended officials singled it out for discrimination after certain officials expressed their view that the church’s moral positions on matters such as abortion and homosexual behavior are “abhorrent.”
The settlement payment–coming after two state court orders in favor of the church–marks one of the largest settlements in U.S. history involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that protects churches from unequal treatment in land use disputes with local governments. Continue reading →