She was only 24 years old when she fell asleep in the Lord—a tragic swimming accident in late September. Bright, kind, and beautiful, she had recently graduated from a Catholic college in California and was studying nursing at a university in Ohio. When our community heard what happened, we were shaken to lose such a … Read more
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. —Matthew 14:26 I have always liked Halloween as a joke that’s hard to get. The joke, as I see it, is that death is something to smile about, even laugh about. … Read more
That sport best pleases that doth least know how: Where zeal strives to content, and the contents Dies in the zeal of that which it presents: Their form confounded makes most form in mirth, When great things labouring perish in their birth. Love’s Labor’s Lost Strange to say (though not much stands outside that category … Read more
“A pretty face may be enough to catch a man, but it takes character and good nature to hold him.” – St. Thomas More To the dismay of many a crumpet-and-tea Englishman, earlier this summer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was married in Westminster Cathedral, the seat of Catholicism in London. Johnson’s marriage to Carrie … Read more
After being laicized by the Vatican in 2019 for allegations of decades of sexual abuse, 91-year-old Theodore E. McCarrick, the now infamous former Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been criminally charged with abusing a teenage boy nearly fifty years ago in Massachusetts. He faces three counts of indecent assault and battery on a minor. … Read more
Every summer brings high temperatures and new lows of indecency to our streets as fashion trends plummet more and more into nudity. This summer, especially, there is a bizarre vibe of “letting loose” as a result of coming out of lockdown, celebrating restored freedoms with freedom from clothing. It is strange and disconcerting. But strangest … Read more
Everyone knows that a good man is hard to find, but a good artist is even harder—especially in the Catholic art scene. As a result, what is not hard to find are churches resembling space stations, sentimental plaster saints, and modernist nonrepresentational adornments. Sacred art is in crisis, and on June 22, the world lost … Read more
A video went viral this month of a tough New York mother taking a stand against her local school board in fiery protest over the woke, anti-police, LGBTQIA+ agenda she perceived being foisted on children by teachers in the classroom. While some criticism may be leveled against such heated displays, it nevertheless serves as a … Read more
The Dauphin had heard of this girl from Domrémy who wished to see him. Rumor had it she won over the commandant of Vaucouleurs by predicting the outcome of the Battle of Rouvray. How intriguing. The rough soldiers who were bringing her apparently called her la Pucelle, “the Maid.” How amusing. The frivolous Dauphin, Charles … Read more
Their attitude is really this: that the man must stop thinking, if he is to go on living. Their counsel is one on intellectual amputation. If thy head offend thee, cut it off; for it is better, not merely to enter the Kingdom of Heaven as a child, but to enter it as an imbecile, … Read more
The earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. —Matthew 27:51-53 West was a materialist, believing in no soul and attributing all … Read more
My wife recently brought me to a local curiosity shop where she enjoys hunting to find something extraordinary. Picking our way through a labyrinth of treasure and trash—the indescribable flotsam and jetsam of life—she pointed to a place on the cluttered pegboard wall. There, peering piercingly through a tangle of frames, infernal bric-a-brac, mannequin heads … Read more
A death-dealing industry and a death-dealing illness are the horns of a dilemma that many Catholics feel caught up in, and the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine has brought new heat to the debate. Of course, as Catholics, we heed the battle cry, “death before sin,” and refuse to participate in the evil of abortion … Read more
Challenged by Diomedes on the battlefield of Troy, Glaucus, in the glorious custom of the ancient epic, declares his identity with eloquent thunder before engaging in combat with an enemy he respects enough to offer an introduction of himself. Nothing could be further in attitude—that is, further from honor and courtesy—than the nameless, but no … Read more
After 46 years of tens of thousands marching in Washington, D. C. to peacefully protest the national legalization of child murder, the March for Life has been canceled and converted into a virtual affair for 2021. Of course, there is nothing surprising in this, but is there something disappointing? For some, the March for Life … Read more
Many may remember the strange and shocking video “This Is America” by rapper Donald Glover, which gained much attention two years ago and is now making a comeback. The images of an America descending into hatred, madness, violence, chaos, and fear were both astute and apocalyptic. Glover was primarily making a statement about racism, but … Read more
We’ve been hearing it for weeks now: 2020 was a terrible year and we all can’t wait to shake its dust from our feet and move on to a better, brighter 2021. Between tense racial eruptions, the Covid stranglehold of fear and “socialist” distancing, and the flagrant fraudulence of our election system, 2020 was a … Read more
Without presuming to speak for the human race, but claiming what authority membership bestows, let it be said that there is no time when people are more susceptible to otherworldly interactions than at Christmas time. Marking the greatest spiritual Advent in history, the aura and traditions of Christmas have been alive with spirits ever since … Read more
To put it mildly, conservatives have a growing frustration over the Supreme Court. When President Trump appointed three justices to the highest bench in the land, there came with that an expectation that the court would make rulings which were more conservative in their leaning. While we did see that inclination regarding keeping houses of … Read more
Once again, Covid-19, or at least news of it, is on the rise—and, with it, media-hyped encouragements to hole up and hide away from our families and friends. And, hot out of the oven, we have the next new phenomenon spawned by the so-called pandemic: “virtual Thanksgiving.” That’s right, instead of traditional “in-person” gatherings of … Read more