It would be a terrible shame if we failed to honor the grand mystery of Our Lord’s Ascension on this Thursday and the remaining days of Paschaltide that follow it, which are, in fact, called Ascensiontide. We may rightly (and … Continue reading
Category: Spiritual Life
Ascension Thursday
Ascension Thursday is one of six holy days of obligation (not counting all Sundays) in the United States, although most dioceses have now transferred it to the following Sunday. Canon Law has relegated the holy days to local bishops or … Continue reading
Recovering a Bright Medieval Vision for the Future
“I try to be unoriginal.” That quote was attributed to Brother Francis in a recent conversation I had with a friend, who, like me, regards Brother as a beloved mentor. Our teacher’s point, which he made in various ways over … Continue reading
Saint Augustine: A Letter to a Widow on How to Pray
National Catholic Register, Matt D’Antuono: St. Augustine explains that the word prayer does not simply mean speaking to God, though that is certainly one way to pray. Prayer, in its broadest sense, means desire: What else is intended by the words … Continue reading
The Holy Week Challenge!
It is Holy Week. If the Catholic liturgical year can be compared to a church building, then what we are approaching is the very sanctuary itself, where the terrible Sacrifice of Christ is offered on the altar, and where the … Continue reading
Have You Heard the Latest?
Brother Francis used to criticize a certain genre of Catholic journalism which majored in the scandalous goings-on in the Church. He used to compare such publications to the gossip who greets his neighbor at the fence with the words, “Have … Continue reading
Why Have You Done This To Us?
It was an innocent question. It was, in fact, one of the most innocent questions ever asked in the entire history of the world. This astonishing claim I urge with great confidence because the question under consideration was asked by … Continue reading
Suggestions for a Good Lent
Seven years ago, I published some “Suggested Lenten Penances” on Catholicism.org. Our website statistics tell me that they get looked at every year, right around the beginning of Lent. By the time readers receive this Ad Rem in their email … Continue reading
Longing for Life Everlasting
If Heaven is where we hope to spend our eternity, it ought to be something that is on our minds here below. “For,” after all, “we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come,” … Continue reading
Dogmas Make Nations, and Men, and Saints
We were created for God’s glory. When man does not work for that glory — when he fails to see, to love, and to seek God in all things — a threefold division takes place. The first division is between … Continue reading
Who Do You Expect?
Who, and What, do we expect to come to us when our Advent is over? To put the question in His own words, “Whom [and What] do men say that the Son of man is?” (Matt. 16:13). Protestants often ask … Continue reading
Why I Love St. Nicholas
Advent and the onset of Christmas always brings on memories of times past and the omnipresent figure of Santa Claus. Now, do not misunderstand me — I am all too aware (and have written about) the de-Christianisation of Christmas and … Continue reading
‘Happy Holidays’? Bah! Humbug!
Charles Dickens was a great literary genius. He had a gift for complicated plots, for colorful characters, and for emotionally evocative storytelling. As a social critic, he also penetrated into the unseemlier side of industrial capitalism, that Protestant beast that … Continue reading
Why Do We Thank God for His Great Glory?
The question that gives me the title for this piece is one I was recently asked, and was glad to answer, for it had occurred to me before, and provided me with some gratifying meditations both on gratitude (thanksgiving) and … Continue reading
Eleazar the Old Scribe, ‘an Example of Virtue and Fortitude’
When disedifying and disheartening bad news abounds, as it has abounded lately, the obligation incumbent upon us to elevate our minds above the mundane and evil becomes all the more pressing. So it was with joy and relief that I … Continue reading
