O Lord, Thou has made for Thyself a worthy dwelling-place in the Virgin Mary.” From the Feast of the Expectation of the Virgin Mary, December 18
Category: Articles
“Next”
My first thought when I saw in my e-mail one morning a few weeks ago that Sister Mary Bernadette had died: What would things be like at the Center now that she was gone? I wasn’t wondering what they would … Continue reading
Fr. Thomas Keating on NPR: Heresy as Mysticism
Saturday, December 24. I went to Keene, N.H. to run errands. On the way, I said a chaplet of the Rosary. While carrying out my errands and on the trip back, I clicked on the local NPR affiliate to see … Continue reading
Two American Blesseds to Be Canonized
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha will soon be Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. Blessed Marianne Cope will undergo a similar name change. On December 19, the Holy Father approved the miracles requisite for these two Beati — both of whom spent some part of … Continue reading
Sr. Mary Bernadette, M.I.C.M., RIP
On Friday, December 16, at 8:08 pm, Sr. Mary Bernadette died. She was surrounded by family members and all the brothers and sisters, who were praying the litany of the dying when she breathed her last. All fifteen decades of … Continue reading
Hamish Fraser — Lion of Christ the King
If ever a man lived a life in his early years that would cause him to lose his soul, it was Hamish Fraser. The circumstances of his birth were unfortunate: his mother, a strict Scottish Calvinist, loved a Roman Catholic … Continue reading
The Story We Live By and the Foundations of Our Faith: Implications of the Incarnation and of the Bethlehem Nativity
[Originally authored 13 December 2003, the Feast of Sancta Lucia] At this time of the Christian Feast of the Nativity, when we are also expectantly considering the coming year of 2012 (as was so in 2003) and the pressures of … Continue reading
Supernaturally Pro-Life Meditations
As something of a follow-up to The Real Gospel of Life, I compiled a small collection of supernaturally pro-life statements that have the authority of Holy Scripture or the Church’s Liturgy. These will help us establish our pro-life priorities, and … Continue reading
This Could Not Be True, And . . . It Wasn’t
I was checking out news items on the New Advent website and to my surprise there was a link to a website carrying an anecdote about Bishop Fulton Sheen having once spoken at Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral. Afterwards, on their … Continue reading
Saint Paul: His Time, His World, Himself
[Review of The World of Saint Paul, by Joseph M. Callewaert, Ignatius Press, 2011] This little volume of fewer than two hundred pages is a fascinating look at Saint Paul, the person, the many places he evangelized, and his times. … Continue reading
Reflections on Knowledge, Beauty, and Wisdom
[Taken randomly from Brother Francis’ lectures, with a minor amount of editing.] Some things have to become part of our knowledge through acquaintance, so to speak. Knowledge becomes impossible if everything needs a definition. If someone were to ask you … Continue reading
Photos: Scene of Fray Juan Padilla’s Martyrdom
A convert to the faith recently wrote us an appreciative email. A native Kansan, he learned about things Catholic in his home state through our web site, which he reads regularly. Immediately below is a brief excerpt from his email, … Continue reading
The King and the ‘Lex Orandi’
Tomorrow is the Feast of Christ the King, the glorious Christian festival instituted by Pope Pius XI to remind the world of the truth taught by his own papal motto: Pax Christi in regno Christi (the peace of Christ in the … Continue reading
Has the Church Changed Its Teaching on No Salvation Outside the Church?
Brother André Marie introduced me to the Called to Communion: Reformation Meets Rome website this morning. The writers for the site are all young scholars who have converted to the Catholic Faith during the past decade. One of them, Tom … Continue reading
The Black Legend
[The Black Legend: How Lies, Jealousy, and Hatred of Spain Have Influenced World Opinion for More Than Five Hundred Years] In order to begin to understand this complex topic, we must first settle on a working definition of the meaning … Continue reading
