A sub-category of News.
Halloween has now been and gone, leaving behind it the usual trail of controversies over how religiously-minded persons should treat the festival: as a harmless piece of spooky fun, or as an unholy feast of Satan merely disguised as an unholy piece of spooky fun. Very much in the latter camp is Fr. Jaromir Smejkal,…
The Catholic sphere is rightly occupied with emphasizing the need for two-parent homes and healthy marriages that provide children with the home lives that they have a right to. Yet, we must also acknowledge and confront the reality that an increasing number of children will be denied that. Almost a quarter of children in the…
But, Christian soul, that you may see more clearly what you are, follow the advice of St. Chrysostom: “Go to the grave; contemplate dust, ashes, worms; and sigh.” 2 Behold how that corpse first turns yellow, and then black. Afterwards, the entire body is covered with a white, disgusting mould; then comes forth a clammy,…
Pope Francis. Sometimes I have a hard time praying for him. His words, if examined carefully, are generally orthodox; however, sometimes they are not interpreted that way by one side or the other. Unfortunately, it seems that the most unorthodox interpretations are given free rein. And that frustrates me. What is my responsibility to him?…
When I was growing up, there was a woman in our parish who became a staple in our family folklore: Joan Langley (name changed). She became an icon of all things showy and sentimental. We would say, “Don’t be such a Joan Langley,” or call something cloying a “Joan Langley.” When everyone was holding hands…
The Relatio Synodalis does not state directly the liceity of adulterous or otherwise immoral sexual relations; it does not state directly the ordination of women; it does not state directly that celibacy must be abolished. But it is the most extensive and deep program of subversion of the Catholic Church ever written. It is a…
Editor’s note: for the All Souls Triduum and the month of November this year we present three chapters from this classic work by St. Alphonsus. You can find this work for free online, with iPieta, or purchase a copy here. Portrait of a Man who has recently gone into the Other World. “Dust thou art,…
An old professor of mine used to say that the Lord’s mercy is justice and His justice is His mercy. This means that as punishment for our crimes, the Lord allows us to experience the consequences of our sins. Inversely, the Lord’s mercy is that He reprimands us before we get too ahead of ourselves…
There was a time, not so very long ago, when the raging controversy among Catholics was about how best to receive Holy Communion. Would greater reverence be shown when receiving Our Lord on the tongue, which had been the custom for centuries, or in the hand, which not a few innovators were proposing as somehow…
First, let’s remember one thing: the outcome of the synod on Synodality has already been determined. Remember what happened with the Family Synod of 2016? According to Archbishop Forte, Pope Francis had a predetermined outcome and pushed it through against the will of the bishops, then “drew out the conclusions” in the infamous footnote. So…
