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
Category: Columns
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
Two Blesseds in the Capitol?
When I read Sister Maria Philomena’s article on Junipero Serra, it reminded me of a piece I wrote a couple of years ago, which I am sure our website’s readers would appreciate. It’s a bit of Catholic trivia that is … Continue reading
Jewish Lawyer Exposes Rank Bigotry of Canadian Human Rights Commission
Canadian author, journalist and attorney, Ezra Levant, has done something unusually heroic. He has made himself a civil-rights guinea pig to test the system, that system being Canada’s Orwellian “Human Rights Commission.” The commission is a neo-Stalinist enforcer of liberal … Continue reading
Give the Gift that Keeps Killing
The marketing department at Planned Parenthood has become positively tasteless. Abortion, the killing of an unborn human, has been made the subject of a gift certificate at Christmas time. “What do you get for the girl who has everything — … Continue reading
A Letter Home
This is the only complete letter from the first thirty-five years of Blessed Junípero Serra’s life. Today it is kept in the Capuchin Convent (monastery) in Barcelona. “Most Dear Friend in Jesus Christ, Father Francisco Serra, “Words cannot express the … Continue reading
