Pope Francis has condemned racism, and what Catholic could possibly disagree? Responding to the killing of George Floyd, the Holy Father said: “My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.” I have to think he … Read more
Across the developed world, ignorant mobs and anarchists are tearing down statues of saints, defacing church monuments, and setting the churches on fire. Not to mention that in the developing world many Christians continue to suffer martyrdom by the thousands at the hands of secular and religious extremists. This has caused many people to finally … Read more
In order for women to embrace our proper role in sanctifying the priesthood, we must be willing to abandon the adversarial position we often place ourselves in with men. Great damage has been done in the dynamic between men and women, thanks to radical forms of feminism that seek to pit men and women against … Read more
As the initial panic of the coronavirus crisis subsides, those who fostered fear as a means to assume powers previously unimagined now find themselves scrambling to maintain leadership among the many who did not experience either the death of someone close to them or even an acquaintance with someone mildly infected. Even now those unwilling … Read more
“But looking at the fuller picture, I clearly see that a number of situations and individuals had a positive influence on me, and that God was using them to make his voice heard.” — Pope Saint John Paul II Think of everything that Karol Wojtyła brought with him to Rome: his teachings, his knowledge, his … Read more
That the Church continues to canonize men, women, and children of “heroic virtue,” and to encourage their public veneration by the faithful, is not, however it may seem, the secular equivalent of The X Factor. They are not, in that sense, winners of a spiritual talent show, although we could say with Saint Paul that … Read more
“Waiting for the Barbarians,” Constantine Cavafy’s poem about civilizational collapse, describes a geriatric Rome so desiccated and demoralized that it is almost entirely without hope. It has roused itself on one failing elbow to grasp at a last chance for regeneration—the barbarian hordes rumored to be approaching, doubtless to sack and burn, but perhaps also … Read more
In the United States on the seventh day of the week, trade and industry seem suspended throughout the nation; all noise ceases. A deep peace, or rather a sort of solemn contemplation, takes its place. The soul regains its own domain and devotes itself to meditation. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote these words in his 1835 … Read more
Recently Le Figaro printed an essay (“Le Christianisme est le coeur de l’Europe: n’oublions pas la leçon de Jean-Paul II !”) by Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Pope Saint John Paul II and the battle of Warsaw, which saved Poland and Europe from invasion by Bolshevik … Read more
Almost twenty years ago, as a zealous evangelical Young Life leader at the University of Virginia, I sat on the trunk of my car with a high school senior at Charlottesville High School. He, an intelligent secular Jew, had taken my Gospel-sharing bait, and was willing to converse on God and Christianity. There we sat, … Read more
There is no question that the death of George Floyd is highly questionable. The shocking and shameful insurgencies erupting in cities across the country propose that the answer is rooted in an engrained American racism. That response, too, is highly questionable. In a sense, the reaction is as disturbing as the incident itself. As fire … Read more
An interview with the Reverend Canon Matthew Talarico, Director of Vocations and Provincial Superior of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Q: What led you to choose your priestly vocation in the Institute and your personal devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass? I came to know the Traditional Latin Mass when I was … Read more
One of the timeless traditions that occurs at the United States Naval Academy during plebe summer, before one is welcomed into the Brigade of Midshipmen, is for midshipman candidates to spend an afternoon at the Naval Academy cemetery where distinguished alumni and fallen warriors are laid to rest. The tombstones of Vice Admiral James Stockdale, … Read more
There is another plague which has deeply affected our country and world for decades, even centuries. It also involves isolation, separation, masks which cover up shame, deep wounds that cry out for healing, and the self-imposed closure of church doors, which represent ways to close off the mercy of God. This also requires the intervention … Read more
God’s judgment is a mercy. This is not a popular idea. Firstly, this is because we do not like the idea of being judged. And secondly, we do not experience judgment in our lives as merciful. It is usually harsh and always unpleasant. God’s judgment, however, is not an experience of this world. His judgement … Read more
“I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ. That is why, in preaching, I say ‘we lepers,’ not, ‘my brethren.’ ” — Saint Damien of Molokai The history of the Church during pandemic is full of saints who were miraculously defended from disease. For instance, the Church invokes Saint … Read more
“In an age of decadence, the Stoic philosophy held together the civil social order of imperial Rome, and taught thinking men the nature of true freedom, which is not dependent upon swords and laws.” – Russell Kirk Piety Hill is the name given by the late Russell Kirk, the “Father of American Conservatism,”to his ancestral … Read more
When Lent began, I had an inkling of what it would look like—the typical penances, spiritual reading, and whatnot to prepare for Passiontide and Easter. After all, it is a time to enter the desert with Jesus. This year, however, the desert around me transformed itself into something entirely unfamiliar. On St. Patrick’s Day, my … Read more
As American parents have learned in the last two months, it doesn’t matter what we think of home-schooling, we’re all doing it, especially for those in my home, Fairfax County, Virginia, where our nationally renowned public school system delayed and then egregiously fumbled its move to virtual classes. Thankfully, there are libraries-worth of free information … Read more
“All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven.” This passage from Ecclesiastes—about there being a time to be born and a time to die, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather them together, and vanity, and dust—well, it’s pretty grim stuff if you take it … Read more