In medieval Latin, a florilegium (literally, a “gathering of flowers”) is a systematic collection of writings from larger works. Its literal Greek equivalent gives us the word anthology. In the Ages of Faith, works of the Church Fathers and other … Continue reading
Today’s propers continue to give us practical instruction on living the “resurrected life” of Christ. The Gospel gives us our second notice that the Holy Ghost will soon come, and His mission will be to complete the work of Christ … Continue reading
Today’s Gospel presents us with the first reference in the Easter Cycle to Our Lord’s Ascension. For three weeks now, we have enjoyed the sweetness of our resurrected Lord’s presence, as symbolized by the Paschal Candle in the sanctuary. In … Continue reading
“Triumphalism” is a bad word in some circles. That those circles have been influential in academic, ecclesiastical, and civil society in recent decades helps to explain our sad lot. I’ll not forget the perplexity that overcame me when I read … Continue reading
The second Sunday after Easter is called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The neophytes — those who were baptized on Holy Saturday — are encouraged to look upon upon themselves as sheep of the flock and to look upon Jesus as their … Continue reading
Every year around Holy Week, the publishers of America’s popular reading material let loose a volley of blasphemies against our Lord’s Resurrection. Citing one or another perfidious “noted scholar,” the glossy-covered journals that accost us at the checkout counter vie … Continue reading
To remain little is to recognize one’s nothingness, to expect everything from God, as a little child expects everything from his father; it is to be disturbed about nothing, not to earn a fortune.
Even among poor people, as long as the child is quite small, they give him what he needs; but as soon as he has grown up, his father no longer wishes to feed him and says to him: “Work now, you can be self-supporting.” Well, so as never to hear that, I have not wished to grow up. Continue reading
We continue what be began in our last number, a three-part study of spiritual childhood by Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (1877-1964). St. Teresa of the Child Jesus reminds us that the principal virtues of the child of God are those … Continue reading
Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (1877-1964) was one of the greatest theologians of modern times. He was a staunch anti-modernist, who engaged and exposed the twerpy upstarts responsible for the neo-modernist Nouvelle Théologie (“New Theology”). Much more than a controversialist, the … Continue reading
Today’s Gospel is a startling contrast to last week’s. Last week, we saw Our Lord in the desert hungry from a forty-day fast, being tempted by the devil. The Church took great pains to show us Our Lord doing penance … Continue reading
You will find nothing in the world’s literature that matches St. Paul’s “sublime Canticle of Charity” (Fr. Plassmann) in today’s epistle. This encomium to the divine love that is infused in our souls at baptism is singularly precious. Far from … Continue reading
And just the way there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, likewise there is no salvation apart from His Mystical Body, the Catholic Church. Abbot Marmion insists that Jesus Christ and His one true Church form one mystery (emphasis his). It is not two separate entities, as if we can accept Christ and reject His Church. No! Christ and His Church, His Mystical Body, form one inseparable mystery, and to reject His Church is to reject His Body. The Catholic Church is the extension of the Incarnation in time. To reject His Holy Catholic Church is to reject Christ Himself. Continue reading
Should we be surprised if the pseudo-mystical ecumenist babblings of neo-modernists lack coherence? I’m sorry if the question was abrupt in its asking. Let’s back up… There’s this book review in NCR, “Praying to a God who is larger than … Continue reading
The Name. We are in Septuagesima season, which began last week, with Septuagesima Sunday — the name comes from the word for seventy. It’s about seventy days before Easter. Today is Sexagesima Sunday: about 60 days until Easter. The Gospel. … Continue reading
We may go farther, and say, not only does holy Mass not hinder our work: it does more, it furthers it, as experience has often proved. It is related of St. Isidore, a Spanish saint of comparatively humble birth, that he was engaged by a wealthy nobleman of Madrid to cultivate his lands for a fixed annual salary. He fulfilled his duty with exemplary industry, but without discontinuing Continue reading
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