A sub-category of News.
In moments of tragedy, it has become almost instinctive for politicians, celebrities, and public figures to declare that they are offering “thoughts and prayers” to the afflicted. The phrase has become so common that it has lost its force. In many circles, it has even become a target of ridicule—critics accuse it of being a…
Labor Day originated as a celebration of the American worker and the gains organized labor won for him, most preeminently the fixed, 40-hour workweek. But not every “pro-labor” government mandate is actually what workers want. Public intellectual Oren Cass summed up a just concluded Wall Street Journal series about where the money of today’s new…
For this 12th Sunday after Pentecost the readings in the Vetus Ordo places before us, from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 3:4–9), a meditation on the surpassing glory of the New Covenant, and from Luke 10:23–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, provoked by a nomikos who wished to test the Lord….
Above: the original basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec, Canada in 1901. At this writing I am touring through the Canadian Province of Alberta, a place where I had only been once before – passing through on the passenger train called The Canadian, during which I stayed for two nights at Jasper. Of course, much has…
Have we still got a Christian consensus around which Americans of every possible persuasion can rally round? A public philosophy, that is, whose strength and wisdom continue to inspire support? And if so, what is the core principle that binds us together as a people? It is, I would argue, the belief that God—not doctors…
Above: George Washington donated the money to build the first Catholic Church in Virginia. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, it would be wise if we, as American Catholics, celebrated our own origins in this country, which – like the country itself – is far older…
As part of the Jubilee Year, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) organized a pilgrimage to Rome to participate in the occasion. Upward of 8,000 people took part, consisting of roughly 800 priests and religious, with the rest being lay faithful. Interestingly, the SSPX pilgrimage was included on the official Vatican website, which published…
During hours of darkness in Holy Week, the Church observes the peculiar liturgy of Tenebrae. As the Office progresses, the candles on the lampstand are extinguished one by one, until darkness is total. It’s a mournful liturgy, to express the desolation of the Church as the Light of the World is about to be eclipsed….
Above: Las Piedrotas, Jalisco, México The train’s forged-steel wheels slowed down and screeched to a stop at Kilometer Marker 491, in the windswept, desolate Highlands of Jalisco. In one of the railcars, six Catholic men waited their fate, on that morning, April 25, 1927, in Rancho San Joaquin, when, suddenly, a soldier called out three…
There is something unspeakably shocking about any mass shooting. There is, sadly, something less shocking about a transgender mass shooter. Yesterday, 23-year-old Robin (formerly Robert) Westman, ambushed the back-to-school Mass at Annunciation preK-8 School in Minneapolis. He was armed with an assault rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, and he brought two-by-fours to barricade the…
