In his first letter to Simplicianus, St. Augustine wrote against the Semi-Pelagians of his day: The grace of faith precedes good works. The grace of faith is less in catechumens, more in the baptized.
Category: Articles
Americanism — A Phantom Heresy?
[Note: While some of the commentary is dated, the article provides a good historical foundation for what is going on today in the Church.] It began for me when I was about twenty years of age. The Church was being “updated.” … Continue reading
Catholicism and the Old South
My Children, Father, Thy forgiveness need; Alas! their hearts have only place for tears! Forgive them, Father, ev’ry wrongful deed, And every sin of those four bloody years; And give them strength to bear their boundless loss, And from their … Continue reading
Desire, Justification, and Salvation at the Council of Trent
Liberal theologians for a long time have been attempting to foist upon docile Catholics the idea that the theological expression baptism of desire is an unassailable doctrine approved by the highest Church authority and taught officially by the Solemn Magisterium. … Continue reading
The Absolute Necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism
After being confronted with the clear teaching of Trent on the necessity of faith for justification and the sacraments for salvation, the Liberal theologian will proceed to question the degree of necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism for Salvation. After … Continue reading
The Living Magisterium
Anyone familiar with the history of the Church knows that not all of the Pontiffs were holy men, and that several were negligent in their duties, especially in their supreme duty to keep inviolate the depositum fidei which was given … Continue reading
The Church of History
Of all the “churches” calling themselves “Christian,” can any one of them irrefutably claim to be the Church founded by Jesus Christ? Does any conform to the clear, precise terms by which this Church of Christ is described in Holy … Continue reading
The Primacy of Peter in The Acts of The Apostles
Throughout the Acts the name and deeds of St. Peter stand out, giving clear proof that from the very beginning he was regarded as the chief Apostle, the one appointed as the head of the Church. Not only is the … Continue reading
The Fate of Unbaptized Infants In Light of the Universal Necessity of Baptism
In reply to the question concerning the salvation of aborted infants by virtue of a vicarious “baptism of desire” on the part of their parents or by “baptism of blood” on either their part or “on the part of the … Continue reading
Orestes Brownson on Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
(From Brownson’s Quarterly Review for April, 1874) Editor’s Introduction: Orestes A. Brownson (1803-1876) will always be remembered as one of the most prolific American converts to the Catholic Church. Brownson had already achieved notoriety as an essayist and lecturer when … Continue reading
Speaking of How to Pray
This article consists of a few loose ends: (1) a book review, (2) a letter to an editor, and (3) another book review. All are closely related in subject matter. 1. A Book Review The Incarnation and Hilton’s Spirituality, by … Continue reading
The Stone Which the Builders Reject — The Dogma of Faith
The mission of the Catholic Church is a clear and simple one: to exhaust Herself for the salvation of souls. “Go ye therefore into all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the … Continue reading
The Providence of God
One of the common objections that we hear concerning the Dogma is this one: What about all those ignorant natives in the wilderness (or in a desert, or an island; or in Tibet, or China or Siberia. . .) who … Continue reading
The Forty English Martyrs on Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
In 1970 the late Pope Paul VI added to the interminable roster of saints an impressive group of thirty-seven men and three women known collectively as the Forty English Martyrs. So ordinary are most of their names — quite unlike … Continue reading
The Salvation of the Pre-Columbian Amerindians
This article appeared in abridged form in a small Catholic archaeological journal Ancient Man, Information Exchange , Volume 7, 1989, Tekakwitha Institute, Woodbridge, Virginia. The salvation of the American Indians before Pentecost, the birthday of the Catholic Church, has never … Continue reading
