I have recently moved from Los Angeles, California, to Trumau Austria, in order to pursue a Master’s degree in Sacred Theology. Uprooting myself from the city where I have lived most of my life was difficult enough; to move to … Continue reading
Category: Spiritual Life
A Season of Sorrows
The recent revelations of depraved deeds committed by bishops and priests are evocative of different appropriate emotions. Anger would be the first of these. It is the irascible passion we experience in the presence of an evil we strive to … Continue reading
Have Confidence!
In the film For Greater Glory, there is a dialogue between Mexico’s Freemasonic head of state, Plutarco Calles and the American Ambassador, Dwight Morrow. Morrow is diplomatically attempting to convince Calles of the wisdom of ending the persecution of the … Continue reading
A Remedy for Young Turks and Old Fools
There is an excellent fourteen-minute sermon called “The Error of Juvenilism” available online for the hearing. It is much worth a careful listen. The observations of the preacher, and the questions that arise in his wake, provide us with a … Continue reading
Brother Francis and Cardinal Medeiros
Brother Francis’ wonderful book, The Challenge of Faith, has been one of my sources for spiritual reading lately. It is a book that should be read, relished, and reread. This morning, I was reading his fourteen-point meditation on the topic … Continue reading
To Honour and be Honoured
Our culture is one that enshrines the dishonorable. In the place of statesmen, we honor stooges and scoundrels; in the place of religious and philosophical truth, moral goodness, and genuine artistic beauty, we exalt overpaid athletes, morally bankrupt Hollywood celebrities, … Continue reading
He Descended into Hell
We have entered into the drama of Holy Week. As the events of these days are each momentous, there is too little time, especially during the Triduum, to confront each of them as they are presented to us by Holy … Continue reading
Show Us Thy Face and We Shall Be Saved
The experience is probably a common one. You find yourself out in public and see a person from the back or side and say to yourself, “Hey, that’s Mike! (or Sarah, Ted, Mary, etc.),” only to discover when the person … Continue reading
‘The Brightness of Thy Face’: Music and Poetry Honoring the Holy Face
The English Hymn variously called, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” and “O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded,” goes back to a German Hymn, O Haupt, voll Blut und Wunden, which, in turn, goes back to a section of a much longer … Continue reading
Is Jesus Really Our Friend?
There is a popular old Protestant hymn by Charles Crozat Converse that readers may have heard: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” The hymn dates from 1868, but the words were borrowed from an 1855 poem called “Pray Without … Continue reading
Presumption: The ‘I Am a Good Person’ Sin
The Way We Were Presumption is a sin that has become increasingly more common over the past fifty years. Before Vatican II, Catholics were taught to have a healthy fear of God and being judged by Him. Whether we were … Continue reading
Sister Talk: ‘What Mary Wants from You,’ Part II
The embedded YouTube video below is part two of a two-part conference by our own Sister Marie Gabrielle, M.I.C.M. (Part one is here.) Sister called her conference, “What Mary Wants from You.” It grew out of talks she prepared for … Continue reading
Sister Talk: ‘What Mary Wants from You’
The embedded YouTube video below is part one of a two-part conference by our own Sister Marie Gabrielle, M.I.C.M. Sister called her conference, “What Mary Wants from You.” It grew out of talks she prepared for the girls in her … Continue reading
Who Is the Least in the Kingdom of God?
For I say to you: Amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the kingdom of God, is greater than he (Luke 7:28). Amen … Continue reading
Grow into Spiritual Childhood this Advent
As this year’s short Advent progresses, many of us will perhaps be thinking of our Christmases as children. As one gets older, it is easy to become sentimental about Christmas past, even without the benefit of its eponymous ghost to … Continue reading
