There is this myth going around that a comprehensive pluralism is a good thing. It is, in fact, a strength according to certain people. What I mean by pluralism here is defined by Merriam-Webster’s (in the fourth sense, a and … Continue reading
Category: «Ad Rem» A Weekly Email Message from the Prior
Heaven: A Holy Beatitude, not a Carnal Fantasy
Muslims and Mormons, it is fairly well known, have a very carnal eschatology. The paradise of the Muslims has rivers of wine (a beverage forbidden to them on earth), along with rivers of milk and clarified honey. Each man will … Continue reading
The Fatima Devotions and Your Happiness
Saint Benedict Center’s twentieth annual conference is now history, and by all accounts it went well. There were many converts and reverts to the Faith present, and there were even some non-Catholics in attendance. (See this picture, worth more than … Continue reading
Fatima, Sin, and a ‘Filial Correction’
A group of Catholic clergy, theologians, and other scholars publicly issued a “filial correction” of Pope Francis on Saturday, accusing the Supreme Pontiff of “propagating heresy” in the apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. The document, initially signed by forty scholars, was … Continue reading
This is the End of the Law
Our beloved mentor, Brother Francis, used to remind us often of the importance of purpose. One way he did this was to tell the story, related in various ascetical treatises on the religious life, of the monk who used to … Continue reading
Catholic Truth, Si; False Dialectic, No!
We live in an age of false dialectics and disinformation of all sorts, at the national and international levels. It is a time when the historical crimes, real or perceived, of Euro-American Christians function as camouflage for an agenda of … Continue reading
A Worldview in the Light of Fatima
The upcoming Saint Benedict Center Conference will be dedicated to the subject, “A Worldview in the Light of Fatima.” This theme was chosen in honor of the centenary of the Fatima apparitions, which will be coming to a close less … Continue reading
Evil Silence and Holy Silence
At the recommendation of my friend Gary Potter, I am reading — very slowly — Robert Cardinal Sarah’s The Power of Silence. The book is as Gary describes it in his short piece on our website, and I will say … Continue reading
Were We Saved by Jesus Christ or by the Holy Trinity?
If the question strikes the reader as strange, it should. But it should do so for only one reason, namely, because it implies that nasty modern habit of opposing things that are in no way opposed. It is a false … Continue reading
‘Keep Yourselves in the Love of God!’: A Graduation Speech
This Ad Rem is a brief introductory speech I gave at IHM School’s graduation this past Sunday. Readers should know that our school in rural southern New Hampshire is very small, hence only two graduates. To read the speeches given by our graduates, please … Continue reading
Imaging the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is sometimes called the “neglected” or “forgotten” Person of the Trinity. It is easy to see why He would be. The First Person is easy to image as a benevolent Father with all the familiar signs of … Continue reading
The ‘Good Fruits’ of Medjugorje
The Holy Father has recently made statements about Medjugorje that have got people talking. Now, these negative statements by the Holy Father have another side to them, as he also made remarks about the possible legitimacy of the earliest messages … Continue reading
Consoling Thoughts on Suffering
All men suffer. The poor suffer because they lack the necessities of life. The rich suffer because of the “cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches” (Mark 4:19), which provoke thousands of anxieties. The young suffer because they … Continue reading
The Religion of Peace
This Sunday, the first after Easter, was Low Sunday. Its Gospel comes from Saint John, who relates Jesus coming into the Upper Room on the evening of His Resurrection. The reading spans to the next Sunday, when the incredulous Saint … Continue reading
Does God Want Sacrifice or Not?
When first introduced to praying the Psalms, I found some passages, especially of Psalms forty-nine and fifty, to be confusing on the subject of sacrifice. I knew they could not contradict either the rule of faith or each other, but … Continue reading
