Prayer to Our Mother of Good Success Soul of Mary, sanctify me, Body of Mary, purify me, Heart of Mary, inflame me, Sorrow of Mary, comfort me, Tears of Mary, console me, O Sweet Mary, hear me. With thy benign … Continue reading
Category: Spiritual Life
The Baptism of Jesus: What Happened and Why?
I have been reading a few good articles about Our Lord’s baptism on Catholic websites, one by Carl Olson for the Catholic World Report, another by Monsignor Charles Pope for the Archdiocese of Washington website, and lastly the Sunday sermon … Continue reading
The Grace of the Epiphany
Epiphany, January 6, is the “Christmas of the Gentiles,” a feast which popularly outranks Christmas in certain Catholic nations and predated it on the Church’s calendar. (Liturgically, in fact, it outranked Christmas until its octave was sadly dropped in 1955). … Continue reading
Brother Francis on Growing Old
I was doing some digging in our archives today, and came upon a letter of Brother Francis’ from 2005. Here is an excerpt from it on growing old: Our Lord sanctified all our life, all our states, all our emotions, … Continue reading
Fear, Holy and Unholy
Advent may not seem the time for considering fear. But if we are thinking with the mind of the Church as expressed in her liturgy, we look forward to two “advents” of Jesus: His coming in mercy, which is mystically … Continue reading
The Sermon on the Mount
In my high school religion class, we have recently been covering the Sermon on the Mount. To prepare myself for the classes I was going to give, I reread the Sermon and reviewed some notes on it from years ago. … Continue reading
More on How to Fight
[Part I] The arts and sciences that lie behind all combat — be it Asian martial arts, boxing, team sports, or the life-and-death combat of warcraft — are habits. These are things acquired by study and/or repetition. Now, science requires … Continue reading
How to Fight
Some Catholics are of the erroneous opinion that the Christian life does not entail fighting (even spiritually), and that all fighting of whatever sort is harmful. Others become consumed by the idea of combat and make it the whole, or … Continue reading
Avowed Atheist Converts While Reading Litany of the Sacred Heart
SMPMagazine: Imagine society’s collective shock if Hillary Clinton were to join the National Rifle Association, if members of the Westboro Baptist Church were discovered frolicking at a gay bar or if Quentin Tarantino were to announce plans to make a … Continue reading
The Isolation of the Soul
Examining the theme of loss and the isolation of the human soul through the thinking of Chesterton, Belloc, and Baring, this paper considers some of the theological, moral, and psychological matters — both the causes and the effects — while … Continue reading
Homages to a Heroine (On Saint Cecilia)
Since times of old, heroes have been praised in song, verse, and the plastic arts. Monuments in stone, paint, and word praise the deeds of such men as Odysseus, Achilles, and Aeneas. Holy Writ narrates the valor of the Judges, … Continue reading
500 Mostly Young Nuns Are Sacred Heart Franciscans in China
The Fides news agency is reporting that 500 women religious, 80% of whom are “very young,” now belong to the Franciscan Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a community devoted to education and the corporal works of mercy. More … Continue reading
The Demonic
Brian Kelly is writing an article on the guardian angels for the next Mancipia. I shall here take up the subject of the fallen angels so that readers might eagerly await what Brian has to say about those blessed spirits … Continue reading
Meekness is Strength
A good friend of mine of many years enjoys relating the story of his confessor’s admonition: “meekness is not weakness.” The priest — a famous Jesuit who has gone to his reward — was on to something. Reflecting on his … Continue reading
Scriptural Admonitions to Meekness
“Moses was a man exceeding meek above all men that dwelt upon earth” (Numbers 12:3). “For thy power, O Lord, is not in a multitude, nor is thy pleasure in the strength of horses, nor from the beginning have the … Continue reading
