Failure in Church leadership, a rejection of faith by the culture, and ruthless attacks on the dignity of the unborn are systemic in our age. Sorrow, loneliness, and fear for the future due to the present moment are all palpable feelings in the human condition for our current time period. When the societal storm waves … Read more
In Northern Virginia, where critical race theory, gender ideology, and emptied classrooms because of COVID-19 have sparked protests by angry parents of public-school students, a parish priest is taking up the legendary Archbishop “Dagger John” Hughes’ mission of helping Catholic children get out of public schools by every means possible. Archbishop Hughes founded the Catholic … Read more
The devout and observant Christian is undoubtedly aware of the precarious state of the faith in our modern world and is becoming increasingly open to out-of-the-box solutions. One such possible solution is to take a cue from our bearded Amish neighbors and form rule-based religious communities—but maybe without the horse and buggy. A brief peak … Read more
In the unfortunate battle between Catholics who promote the COVID-19 injections and those who oppose them, several specious arguments have arisen. Proponents point to a long list of commonly used medications they say were also developed or tested using the cells of HEK-293. This is a fetal stem cell line propagated from an aborted baby … Read more
The City of God is no ordinary work of Christian theology. It is one of the most influential works of Christian theology ever written. Reading St. Augustine’s work can be difficult—the size, alone, can be off-putting and burdensome. But reading Augustine is always a treat and insightful, especially when realizing wisdom and insight that enriches … Read more
Tragic news from France informs us that a Rwandan man, Emmanuel Abayisenga, murdered Fr. Olivier Maire, 61, the French provincial superior of the Montfort Missionaries (the Company of Mary). Abayisenga is also the main suspect in an arson attack on the cathedral in Nantes, in northwestern France, in July 2020. The suspect had been under the … Read more
If one were to visit Kerala (the southernmost state of India, known for the early Christian community founded by St. Thomas the Apostle) and drive through the various towns and villages, one would find bold displays of Christianity amid a predominantly Hindu country. A Catholic parish is not hidden away in a town but exhibited … Read more
The philosophy of materialism—the view that the physical world is the only thing that exists—pervades our era. Proponents of this philosophy often use the opinions of scientists to defend it. It isn’t surprising that some who devote their lives to the study of matter accept an idea that emphasizes its importance. However, the disregard for … Read more
[Editor’s note: As Raymond Cardinal Burke continues his fight against COVID-19, his friends and admirers felt moved to put together this little symposium in his honor. We hope that it will inspire the faithful to continue praying fervently for his good health, both physical and spiritual. We also hope that it will hearten Cardinal Burke and … Read more
Raymond Cardinal Burke suffers from what I call the Ratzinger Syndrome. Remember God’s Rottweiler? The scourge of the Catholic Church? The inquisitor? Torquemada! There was no end to the slanders heaped upon Ratzinger’s head. This lasted just as long as he was merely a Cardinal. But when he became Pope Benedict XVI, something happened. Folks … Read more
On the 14th of May in 1940, following a massive invasion four days earlier by the German High Command, Holland was forced to surrender, along with Luxembourg and Belgium, each fated to spend the next five years in a state of brutal subjugation under the heel of the Third Reich. Wholesale deportations soon began, especially … Read more
The tract in the pre-1970 Mass of the Common of the Blessed Virgin begins: “Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, thou alone hast destroyed all heresies. Who didst believe the words of the Archangel Gabriel.” Why is Our Lady the destroyer—or Exterminatrix—of all heresies? Because she believed the words of the Archangel Gabriel; her fiat of absolute … Read more
I recently had a surprisingly uplifting conversation with my nine-year-old daughter. Mae, returning from Catholic camp, apologized to me for failing to abstain from meat on her Friday at the camp. In her calculus, Catholic camp would reflect our household, throughout the penitential and ordinary seasons, in that the very basic weekly abstention from land … Read more
Let’s get one thing straight: I’m a Protestant. Like all the rest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around transubstantiation, things relating to Mary, and places like Purgatory. But despite all this, I’ve never felt such a feeling of belonging to something as I have at the Parish of Holy Innocents—one of the last … Read more
Let us be honest with ourselves—we are angry. A cursory review of social media substantiates this. There is a limitless list of reasons why we are angry. We can point to COVID-19, economic hardship, politics, Church scandals, and theological grievances. We might be angry over less big-picture concerns, including strife among family members, friends, and … Read more
“If there were only three like you in France, I would not be able to set foot there,” said Satan to a future saint serving as a parish priest. St. John Vianney (1786-1859), also known as the Curé of Ars, is the patron saint of parish priests, and his deep sanctity sheds light on what … Read more
In the first-ever papal sermon, St. Peter ended his exhortation by urging his Jewish audience to “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). It was the first of countless invitations … Read more
When the maid screamed, it only took seconds for 23-year-old Pier Giorgio Frassati to come to her defense. He quickly discovered that a group of Fascists had forced their way into the house to vandalize it. While some started to break furniture, another attempted to cut the telephone wires. “I threw myself at that scoundrel … Read more
In our days, we are seeing an intensification of the spiritual battle as the situation within the Catholic Church continues to deteriorate. Battles have casualties, and some of those casualties are Catholics who have lost their faith or are tempted to leave the Church because of the outrageous corruption, infidelity, and cowardice of its leaders … Read more
If revenge, as the proverbial saying has it, is a dish best served cold, then the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis provides all the ingredients for a perfect meal. Sold into slavery by the treachery of his brothers, Joseph is carried off into Egypt where, after years of exile and loss, he … Read more