This is an update on the February-March Catholic America Tour. (If you have not read it, please take a look at Ad Rem No. 95 for the announcement of the road trip.) We have received several inquiries from interested persons, … Continue reading
Category: Columns
How Support for Abortion Became Kennedy Dogma
Anne Hendershott has an article in the on-line Wall Street Journal about Caroline Kennedy and the Kennedy family politicians’ predilection for abortion. She writes of the 1964 meeting at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Mass., the colloquium wherein the Kennedy … Continue reading
The Holy Name of Jesus and Free Will
“But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name.” (John 1:12) On this Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, it was my privilege to … Continue reading
Vatican I, a Council Called in Very Tough Times
When Blessed Pope Pius IX summoned the First Vatican Council in 1869 the world was somewhat mystified. There had not been an ecumenical council since Trent (1545-1563). The nineteenth century had brought a new factor into the equation of church/state … Continue reading
The Wreck of the Deutschland
The great Catholic priest, convert, and poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., was so affected by the sinking, in 1875, of a German ship, the Deutschland, in a storm off the coast of Bremen, and the heroism of five Franciscan sisters … Continue reading
The Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto commenced between the roughly equal number of men and ships off the coast of Corinth, Greece, after a traditional and formalized ceremony. Both Muslims and Christians had about 30,000 men and slightly over two hundred vessels … Continue reading
Phillip Murray, Advocate of the Working Man
One of the presidents of the American United Steel Workers Union was a very devout Catholic. He was Phillip Murray (1886-1952), an Irishman whose family emigrated from Scotland in 1902 when he was sixteen years old. Murray, who had worked … Continue reading
God-sibling to Gossip
The word “gossip” originally had a very noble meaning. It is contracted from “god-sibling” and was the term used for the godparent at baptism. In time the word was extended in usage and applied to any close friend, and, more … Continue reading
Guadalupe Day Ice Storm: Photos
(This posting was originally published on the IHM School Site.) In the early morning of December 12, 2008, southwestern New Hampshire and a large section of Massachusetts lost power due to a devastating ice storm. The tops of trees snapped … Continue reading
The Pope’s Legion: The Multinational Fighting Force That Defended The Vatican
I have a distinct memory, from my Catholic high school days back in the 1950s, of a black and white photograph in a history textbook. It was of a soldier in a funny-looking uniform; he had an even funnier-sounding name. … Continue reading
Let’s Hear It for the Sisters!
For the unaware, it should be made known that our sisters have a web site that is frequently updated with pieces of “educational philosophy and cultural miscellany from a classical Catholic viewpoint.” Their brief and frequent postings do not disappoint. … Continue reading
A Brief Metaphysical Excursus on the Words “First” and “Second”
If you have survived the magniloquent name of this little piece, you should easily get though the rest, for the grandiose title heads a subject matter well within reach. It occurred to me while I was deep in thought — … Continue reading
U.S. Bishop the Son of a Slave
Yes, there was a Catholic bishop in the United States whose mother had been a Negro slave. He was James Augustine Healy (1830-1900), second bishop of Portland Maine. He was born in Macon, Georgia, to Michael Healy, an Irish immigrant … Continue reading
Vatican’s Worship Chief Promotes Kneeling for Communion
Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, confirmed last week as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has advocated reception of Holy Communion according to the Church’s ancient tradition, kneeling and on the tongue. When asked … Continue reading
Saint Joseph: The Hero of Christmas
(The following meditation on Saint Joseph was recently sent out as our Christmas Letter. I hope you enjoy it.) Contemplating a Nativity scene, we behold a divine Infant, an immaculately conceived Mother, and a foster father who somehow remains the … Continue reading
