A sub-category of News.
“Good fences make good neighbors,” says the gruff fellow in Frost’s poem “Mending Wall,” as he and the speaker engage in what seems like a pointless ritual every year after the spring thaw. They walk along the wall between their properties and replace the stones that have fallen, some by the boisterousness of hunters, but…
Last month a social media intern working for the General Secretariat of the Synod posted a poll on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter). The yes/no poll asked: “Do you believe that synodality as a path of conversion and reform can enhance the mission and participation of all the baptized?” One can imagine the thought process of this…
It is election season, and as usual, most of us wish that it would all just go away. And yet, we know instinctively that anarchy is untenable, that there will always be a ruler, and that the organization of the state is primarily to see that the chosen ruler is more than simply the biggest,…
Over the course of my relatively short career as an extraordinary proclaimer of the Word, my audience has responded with blank stares and occasional approving smiles. At least until this past Sunday, when I chose to read the longer version of the 2nd reading. St. Paul, who can sometimes be impenetrably obscure, is extremely and…
Editor’s note: DONATE to this worthy cause HERE. In 2023, I had the honor of being invited by His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider to Tanzania, Africa, specifically to a village called Puma. The purpose of my visit was to witness the deeply traditional Catholic life in the area, particularly at a local monastery, and to…
Here’s a fun fantasy for you. Imagine you had been one of the five thousand fervid delegates at last week’s Democratic National Convention. A chilling prospect, to be sure. But there you are, seated amid countless screaming delegates in this huge, cavernous hall. And suddenly you realize you’ve got a whole hour to kill between…
Two events of recent days have scandalized me. Both were symbolic gestures and included the exchange of platitudes but also created an ambiguity about the Church’s teaching that is stretched to obfuscation. The first symbolic event was when the pope sent a new nuncio of Venezuela. In case you don’t pay attention to Latin American…
Thusly I heft a scriptural lantern to illuminate the special content of our Epistle reading for this 14th Sunday after Pentecost from Galatians 5:16-24. Herein we have Paul’s list of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. In the Revised Standard Version (RSV), Paul signals nine. In the Latin Vulgate and Douay-Rheims Version (DRV) we find…
When Kamala Harris accepted the nomination for President of the United States on Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention, she wore black. Many were expecting her to sport the white pants suit that Hillary Clinton made “a thing” to signify the women’s suffrage movement as she attempted, like a bird against an office window,…
As a continuation of Saint Day Customs Part 1 and Part 2, this third part is dedicated to various customs for the liturgical year which are not sufficient in themselves to justify an entire article but which nonetheless should be better known and observed by the faithful. In particular, the liturgical celebrations of Our Lady…
