Last week in this space I wrote a very urgent cri de coeur to my readers. The response was tremendous. We received an outpouring of prayers and financial contributions, as well as written expressions of concern and gratitude for our … Continue reading
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
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
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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, 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
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
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
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
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