Our 2021 Saint Benedict Center Conference is now history. Thankfully, it is a pleasant history — so we are being told by many in attendance — and one that can be relived in part by listening to or viewing the … 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.
On Wrath and Wine: How Virtue Can Surprise Us
One of the lessons we frequently meet in the lives of the saints is that true virtue can be very surprising. For instance, the “hilaritas mentis” (cheerfulness of heart) of many saints who were very ascetic — e.g., Saint Philip … Continue reading
Pope Francis and the Senseless Galatians
In two back-to-back Wednesday audiences last month, Pope Francis managed to bring upon himself a great deal of criticism from two quite different audiences: faithful Catholics and the Grand Rabbinate of Israel. While Catholic outlets were quick to pick up … Continue reading
Ordered Virtue as Resistance to Revolution
Next week, our IHM School resumes classes. ‘Tis that time of year! In honor of all the students, parents, and teachers preparing for a new academic year, I thought I would make this Ad Rem a “back-to-school special” edition. It … Continue reading
On ‘Traditionis Custodes,’ Keeping Calm, and Carrying on
“Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:10). So goes the eighth Beatitude, which is the only one of the eight followed up by an inspired “footnote” at the end: … Continue reading
Prudence and Charity
In this third and last installment of my mini-series on Prudentia according to Josef Pieper, I will focus on one chapter from the fine book, The Four Cardinal Virtues, the title of which I borrow for this Ad Rem: “Prudence … Continue reading
Knowing the Real and Doing the Good
Last week, I began what I intend to be a three-part study of the cardinal virtue of prudence using the insights of the German Catholic philosopher, Dr. Josef Pieper, with an eye to current events. There is a lot of … Continue reading
The ‘Mother’ of Virtues as a Remedy to Pervasive Surrealism
German Catholic philosopher, Josef Pieper, had very much to say about the theological and moral virtues in a number of his writings. Of interest here are chapters in his 1964 collection of previously written studies, The Four Cardinal Virtues, wherein … Continue reading
Dystopian Fantasy versus Reality
The following is a brief speech I gave at IHM School’s graduation this past Sunday. Readers should know that our school in rural New Hampshire is very small. We had two graduates this year. Over the last eighteen months, we have all … Continue reading
Saint Bernard’s ‘Three Freedoms’
Over eight centuries before Franklin D. Roosevelt articulated his “Four Freedoms,” a shorter and much better list of freedoms was elucidated by the young abbot of the new monastery of Clairvaux, one Bernard by name. In his work On Grace … Continue reading
The Progress of Salvation
“Are you saved, brother?” That question, often asked by a certain kind of “reformed” Protestant, can be answered in different ways, depending on the precise meaning given to the word “saved.” We might answer, “No, I’m not dead yet,” or, … Continue reading
On Everything That’s Presently Wrong with the World
There is a joke I have been telling people in the last few weeks. Not a joke, really, more of a jocular quip. I mentioned to a few friends and correspondents that I have to find out who the patron … Continue reading
Days of Grace
We are in the Sacred Triduum and therefore have entered into the very “holy of holies” of the Church’s liturgical cycle. Please know that all our generous supporters, tertiaries, readers, and friends are remembered in our prayers in this holiest … Continue reading
‘Same Sex Attraction,’ a Different Perspective
Dr. G.C. Dilsaver once said something very provocative about “same sex attraction” in an interview with Mike Church. For those not familiar, this is the term of recent coinage used to label the intrinsically disordered attractions otherwise called “homosexual” and … Continue reading
‘Be Strengthened in the Lord’
The anxieties and troubles we undergo often vex us irrationally. As I write this, I find myself having to console a frightened dog and am, therefore, in a position to observe non-rationality where it best remains: in a beast. Our … Continue reading
