Commentary
Bishop Martin and personal liturgical preferences
If I were a bishop, I would want to take very seriously the objections of those who are appalled by an over-simplified and lock-step “modern” liturgical uniformity, which many see as a genuine impoverishment despite the legitimately noble simplicity of the Roman Rite. It would seem prudent to thoroughly examine the reasons for this rather than to treat the many millions of Catholics who remain devoted to the Latin Mass as obstacles to liturgical “progress”.
Pope Leo XIII: inequality is a fundamental law of nature
According to Pope Leo XIII, one of the most fundamental laws of nature is inequality of perfection, resulting necessarily in inequalities of power and authority.
A North Carolina bishop threatens a full-scale ‘liturgy war’
Bishop Martin insults past generations when he writes: “Our ancestors ‘heard’ the Mass in Latin every Sunday but never understood it.” Should we then conclude that only in the late 20th century did Catholics begin to understand the Mass?
The Challenge of Eucharistic Catechesis
Bold and creative events are necessary to spark Eucharistic faith, but their success hinges upon inspired liturgical and catechetical practices that take place daily and weekly, year after year. Repetitio est mater studiorum, for the Eucharist as for anything else.
5.11 St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Arbiter of Christendom
St. Bernard of Claivaux (1090 - 1153 AD) was the founder of the Cistercians, a reform order of the Benedictines, and was one of the Church’s true mystics. He opposed the “intentionalism” of the heretic Peter Abelard with his quip: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” He also opposed an anti-pope, corrected a king, brokered peace in Europe, and had to nuance the doctrine of “just war” in the face of Christian losses in the Crusades.
196—Theology of Hiking—Fr. John Nepil
Fr. John Nepil, priest and mountaineer, joins the podcast to discuss his book To Heights and Unto Depths: Letters from the Colorado Trail. Topics discussed include: --The modern view of "nature" vs. God's creation --A morally responsible approach to risk-taking --The modern origins of hiking as a secular activity --"Wilderness" vs. "garden" - Catholic attitudes toward the wild places
Who am I?
The Ascension and the departure of the visible presence of Jesus is not a sorrowful mystery. The Ascension is a glorious manifestation of the Incarnation that continues with our cooperation as His instruments.
Anti-semitic murders and the 5th anniversary of George Floyd riots
That is the ideology powering both the George Floyd riots of 2020 and the massacre of Israelis three years later and the murder of that young couple this week. America and Israel both deserve destruction, it is claimed, because we are both guilty of “settler colonialism.” Supporters of Israel, such as that couple, likewise deserve death according to that line of reasoning.
The key to the Church’s success in this world
As a mere matter of demographics, a Christless Church is an empty Church, and therefore a Church which creates no useful constituency even for the better management of this world’s affairs. For mere demographic reasons, it makes no sense for the Church to emphasize anything in this world without first attending to the conversion and expansion of her own effective membership. But this is not the only problem, for when even good ends are sought without reference to Christ, they are always sought in vain.
Warning: Fake News
As more and more people rely on the internet for their news, in the Wild West of blogs, podcasts, and social media, fraudulent stories spread quickly.
Solzhenitsyn as prophet
Like most prophets, unfortunately, he is unpopular—unpopular especially among the self-appointed arbiters of popular opinion, who resent his indictment of their shallow thinking.
Imagine
You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us—in the Land of the Ten Commandments.
Eight reasons why I like Leo
Someone needs to give Cardinal Dolan a medal for his role in healing the universal Church after an awkward pontificate. Dolan told a Sunday morning talk show, just before the Conclave, that he wanted a Pope who would combine the outreach of Francis with the clarity of John Paul II and Benedict. That is what we now have in Pope Leo.
Introducing: The Second Collection
Pope Francis stated, on numerous occasions, that war always represents a failure of policy and a loss for the nations involved. No reasonable person should argue the point; war is a terrible thing. But what if the war is fought for a just cause—that is, to redress a wrong that is even more terrible?
Rule of St. Benedict | Ep. 3—Work, Governance, and Conclusion
"Prefer nothing whatever to Christ. And may He bring us all together to life everlasting!"
Do social encyclicals advance the Church’s mission?
The Church’s voice must be primarily spiritual and moral. It seems to me that we sometimes forget that the Church has no expertise to offer concerning the best and most efficient mechanisms for promoting and balancing all the essential goods through the particular mechanisms of human government. Imagine, for example, what would happen to political efficiency if the world’s governments restructured themselves in accordance with the Church’s current operational model of synodality!
Fragmented sexuality in Malick’s To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, & Song to Song
In the "Weightless Trilogy", Terrence Malick reaches the height of his formal experimentation, and offers a prophetic lament over modern alienation and especially the harm done by sexual immorality - referencing faith as a solution and even proposing openness to children as one of the fundamental things missing in modern life. However, in handling the sensitive subject matter of sexual excess, Malick sometimes crosses moral lines in execution, however praiseworthy his thematic intentions.
5.10 St. Bernard of Clairvaux: The Mellifluous Doctor
St. Bernard of Claivaux (1090 - 1153AD) was born to be a knight, and grew up in a castle, but he chose to be a different kind of knight - a true prayer warrior - and he supported the invention of the Christian knight by endorsing the Knights Templar. He would be the founder of the Cistercians, a reform order of the Benedictines. He was a strong advocate of devotion to Our Lady, and of orthodox doctrine, and he would turn down the office of bishop in six different cities.
The simple truth of how Leo XIV was elected
A papal election is not like a political contest. And whatever “inside” information we receive is tainted, in several different ways. So why not look at the election of Pope Leo XIV from the perspective of an interested observer with no top-secret sources?
Popes named Leo: The 13 predecessors
It is interesting to recall, however, that there were no fewer than thirteen popes who chose the name of Leo before the current pope. Of these, the Church considers five of them saints (though they were all canonized long before today's rigorous process was developed). Sanctity aside, however, perhaps the two greatest of the Leos were Leo the Great (the first) and Leo XIII. For some of those along the way, it is now difficult to discern their value.
Religious Fads
The latest fads repackage the tired old heresies and objections to Church teaching and, like Madison Avenue executives, market worn-out heresies with persuasive advertising gimmicks.
Pope Leo XIV faces a daunting challenge
The Catholic world rejoices at the election of a new Pope, even before getting to know him. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square applauds the announcement—Habemus papam!—without waiting to hear the new Pontiff’s name.
Rule of St. Benedict—Ep. 2 | Prayer and Community Life
"We believe that the divine presence is everywhere... But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God."
A vision like no other: Rethinking what we consider “life”
Most of us tend to be locked into a flattened materialist vision of reality, a vision (or lack of vision) thrust upon us by centuries of dominance by the modern Western “scientific” worldview, which is generally focused on only one aspect of reality: How do material things work, and what can we gain from that knowledge before we die?
We Watch for White Smoke
Review of "We Have a Pope!" by Katherine Bogner and illustrated by Kortney Senn, published by Emmaus Road Publishing. Includes coverage of the Papal conclave, cardinals, and Sistine Chapel.
Will cardinals reject a call for Church unity?
If any one of the cardinal-electors finds himself saying, “I could be comfortable with N as the Pope,” I hope he will see that as a reason NOT to vote for N.
Never let a papal death go to waste
No sir, not the least bit performative. Totally authentic!
Preparing for a bad pope
We should pray and fast for a good pope out of love for the Church, but we should not look for the next pope to “save” us so that we will not have to suffer or convert personally. God's Providence governs all that occurs, and all authority comes from God. While God does not guarantee us a good pope, whatever pope we get is the one He wants us to have - even if it is for our chastisement. And while we sometimes get a better pope than we deserve, we never get a worse pope than we deserve.
Seven questions for cardinal-electors
Why are you confident in this man? Because he is a good manager, or because he is a good man? Because he is clever, or because he is prayerful? Because he is a skillful diplomat, or because he is a loving pastor? Because he has good plans, or because he listens to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?
What outcome should we want from the papal election?
The current practice of synodality-as-democratized-input has become a demonstration of its own absurdity. There is a reason that Christ established the governance of the Church as a hierarchy. Any competent leader will know how to get the input he needs to govern well; but to turn the process of “inputting” into a central mechanism of governance is to completely misunderstand the fundamental nature of competent rule.
China’s puzzling influence on the conclave
By announcing these “elections” just before the conclave, the CCP exposed the weakness of that secret Rome-Beijing accord, and thereby damaged Cardinal Parolin’s standing.
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