It would be a terrible shame if we failed to honor the grand mystery of Our Lord’s Ascension on this Thursday and the remaining days of Paschaltide that follow it, which are, in fact, called Ascensiontide. We may rightly (and … 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.
Americanism, Quietism, and Catholicism
The escalating crisis in the Church is lately having the sad effect of fostering enmities between those who ought to be, or who once were, allies. Aided by a social media that lets us too easily forget our good manners … Continue reading
Recovering a Bright Medieval Vision for the Future
“I try to be unoriginal.” That quote was attributed to Brother Francis in a recent conversation I had with a friend, who, like me, regards Brother as a beloved mentor. Our teacher’s point, which he made in various ways over … Continue reading
The Holy Week Challenge!
It is Holy Week. If the Catholic liturgical year can be compared to a church building, then what we are approaching is the very sanctuary itself, where the terrible Sacrifice of Christ is offered on the altar, and where the … Continue reading
Separating What God Has Joined
Protestantism and Liberalism promote divorce. In saying so, I do not limit my meaning specifically to marital divorce; I mean broadly that both the heresy and the ideology separate what God has joined together — sometimes including man and wife … Continue reading
Have You Heard the Latest?
Brother Francis used to criticize a certain genre of Catholic journalism which majored in the scandalous goings-on in the Church. He used to compare such publications to the gossip who greets his neighbor at the fence with the words, “Have … Continue reading
Suggestions for a Good Lent
Seven years ago, I published some “Suggested Lenten Penances” on Catholicism.org. Our website statistics tell me that they get looked at every year, right around the beginning of Lent. By the time readers receive this Ad Rem in their email … Continue reading
The Hell of Faith: ‘Dreadful Possibility’ and ‘Terrible Reality’ at Once
There is a sense of mounting intensity in the Church. Within the last ten days alone, the following has happened: Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, signed a “Document on Human Fraternity,” which says that … Continue reading
Longing for Life Everlasting
If Heaven is where we hope to spend our eternity, it ought to be something that is on our minds here below. “For,” after all, “we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come,” … Continue reading
Dogmas Make Nations, and Men, and Saints
We were created for God’s glory. When man does not work for that glory — when he fails to see, to love, and to seek God in all things — a threefold division takes place. The first division is between … Continue reading
Irreconcilable Doctrines on Justification
An article I came across recently quoted a very high-ranking churchman saying, not in so many words, that Martin Luther was right about the doctrine of Justification. It was alarming to see, though not entirely surprising in these days when … Continue reading
Who Do You Expect?
Who, and What, do we expect to come to us when our Advent is over? To put the question in His own words, “Whom [and What] do men say that the Son of man is?” (Matt. 16:13). Protestants often ask … Continue reading
‘Happy Holidays’? Bah! Humbug!
Charles Dickens was a great literary genius. He had a gift for complicated plots, for colorful characters, and for emotionally evocative storytelling. As a social critic, he also penetrated into the unseemlier side of industrial capitalism, that Protestant beast that … Continue reading
Why Do We Thank God for His Great Glory?
The question that gives me the title for this piece is one I was recently asked, and was glad to answer, for it had occurred to me before, and provided me with some gratifying meditations both on gratitude (thanksgiving) and … Continue reading
‘Unite the Clans’ in Good Doctrine and Missionary Purpose
This past weekend, Brother Joseph and I were at the Catholic Identity Conference in Weirton, West Virginia. This is the conference which has been described as a traditionalist “unite-the-clans” event. In that regard, as in many others, it did not … Continue reading
