Fifty-four years ago three sisters called Mary, Pauline, and Teresa spent an hour of joy in each other’s company. The youngest sister, Teresa, told tales of her childhood with such charm that the other two were captivated.
Category: Articles
The Big Decision: Your Options, God’s Plan
(This was written in preparation for a series of conferences on vocations and states in life that I gave at Saint Benedict Center in the Spring of 2005. Please see the end of this piece for a small table of … Continue reading
Catholic Education
(A Question or Two on Education) This fall, once again, all over the United States, Catholic boys and girls have enrolled in non-Catholic colleges. For the most of them their motives are simple and not too ambitious — a good … Continue reading
How Not to Write a Book
“I have a nausea,” said Sancho Panza, “and I believe I must write a book.” “I can think of no nausea so potent as to fit thee to write a book,” said Don Quixote, “and, since thou art my squire, … Continue reading
Eustace Ahatsistari, Huron Warrior
This past February 9, I posted an article about the Huron Indian, Joseph Chihwatenha, entitled Red Man Without a Cause. He was a noble man, naturally virtuous, who after his conversion and brief life as a Catholic exhibited the kind … Continue reading
Conversation Without Conversion
Why, yes, I’m a Catholic. I thought you knew. I haven’t mentioned it explicitly before because I’ve gathered from various remarks you’ve made that you’re not too fond of the Church, and I haven’t wanted our friendship to be endangered … Continue reading
The Women, The Apostles, and the Tomb: Easter in Review
On Easter Sunday, during its Octave, and on the first Sunday after Easter, the Roman Missal presents us with a different Gospel reading every day. All of these relate what happened on the day of Our Lord’s triumphant Resurrection. The … Continue reading
Common Moth
Born out of dust, of dust’s consistency, You start, from the immensity of night, A wisp of fluttering transparency, Glorious with willingness, this final flight.
On Christian Wisdom
Wisdom does not consist in the possession of a great store of knowledge, but rather in the reduction of one’s knowledge to a few underlying principles. Growth in knowledge, through the accumulation of facts, is not necessarily growth in wisdom, … Continue reading
From the Secret of the Rosary
Never will anyone really be able to understand the marvelous riches of sanctification that are contained in the prayers and mysteries of the Holy Rosary. This meditation on the mysteries of the life and death of Our Lord and Savior … Continue reading
My Letter to a Protestant Objector
(Edited from an actual reply recently sent from Saint Benedict Center.) To our online readers: I am sharing this “for what it’s worth” to you. I never got a response from the lady to whom it was sent. Maybe you … Continue reading
Miracle on 115th Street
The Church in the United States has always been predominately Irish as an institution. Even today, with Hispanics obviously bound to become the Catholic majority in the near future, she remains essentially Irish-American in character and spirit.
A Feud with St. Joseph Cupertino
The feud between St. Joseph of Cupertino, patron Saint of the American Air Forces and me, is over at last. It was initiated, by me, several years ago; maintained, by me, in a state of smoldering animosity for several years, … Continue reading
Mar Matthew Gregory Nakkar, A Syrian Saul
(1795-1868) (Reprinted with Permission) Editor’s Introduction: In the Arab Catholic world there is a rich treasury of liturgical rites. The Ancient Syrian Rite — that of Antioch — is the “parent rite” of five “children”: The Maronite Rite, discussed at … Continue reading
Courtship: The Chaste Preparation for Holy Matrimony
(This was written in preparation for a series of conferences on vocations and states in life that I gave at Saint Benedict Center in the Spring of 2005. Please see the end of this piece for a small table of … Continue reading
