O Prince of the realm of happiness and mirth! Who reigns unseen in gentle majesty; O Lord and God of all in heaven and earth, That is or was and all that ever shall be.
Category: Articles
Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?
Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?, by Michael P. Foley; published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 (This book is not to be confused with Father Leonard Feeney’s classic, Fish on Friday.) When I picked up this intriguingly titled paperback, I … Continue reading
Quinquagesima Sunday
You will find nothing in the world’s literature that matches St. Paul’s “sublime Canticle of Charity” (Fr. Plassmann) in today’s epistle. This encomium to the divine love that is infused in our souls at baptism is singularly precious. Far from … Continue reading
‘There is no salvation outside the world.’
How clever! Probably got a chuckle or two from the audience. The trouble is the speaker actually meant what he said. Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P., summarized his theological legacy in these words in December 2008 at a symposium held in his … Continue reading
Appreciation
All the stars Must shine on high To make the sky.
A Latter-Day Athanasius: Father Leonard Feeney
“Tell me, is Monsignor Hickey still alive?” “Yes, he’s alive,” the visiting priest answered his host as they sat out on the lawn, one summer day in 1970, overlooking the valley vista beyond them. “But he’s very, very sick.”
The Sky
O, Dear God why so much sky? The birds don’t need that much to fly, And far less is more than fills the eye.
Sexagesima Sunday
The Name. We are in Septuagesima season, which began last week, with Septuagesima Sunday — the name comes from the word for seventy. It’s about seventy days before Easter. Today is Sexagesima Sunday: about 60 days until Easter. The Gospel. … Continue reading
Learning Unreality
You have read and read and read some more, History, fiction, science, lore,
‘The Church of Salvation’ by Brother Leonard Mary, M.I.C.M.
First published in 1984, and more recently updated, Brother Leonard Mary’s analytical commentary and reference book, The Church of Salvation, is back in print. As a loyal and original disciple of Father Feeney, and, actually, of all the members of … Continue reading
Saint Joan of Arc
O valiant maiden of Orleans, Leader in armies, model for heroines, Inspirer of kings and queens; O heaven instructed shepherdess Detect the beastly faithlessness In sheep’s fleece and shepherd’s dress. O gallant bearer in the field Of Mary’s banner and … Continue reading
A Translation of “Mon Chant d’Aujourd’hui”
My life is just one instant, one passing hour. My life is just a moment, that skips and runs away.
Q’s and A’s on the Guardian Angels
I promised last September that I would post answers to questions I received from a high school student about the angels. It’s been over four months now since I have done that. My apologies to anyone who was waiting for … Continue reading
The Poets
Let not the poets fool us, They do not fly; they climb. For even were they birds of flight, Their wings are struck in lime.
Blessed James Francis Kern, Victim of the Atonement
There are a good number of canonized saints who died before reaching thirty years of age: Saints Dominic Savio, Stanislas Kostka, Therese of Lisieux, Maria Goretti, Gemma Galgani, and Anne Line, one of the forty English martyrs, come to mind. … Continue reading
