A sub-category of News.
When some observers claim—such as Dr. D.P. Curtin does in his article in Crisis Magazine—that the “Byzantine Catholic Church is collapsing” and will “soon fade into oblivion,” the question should be asked, “What part of the Byzantine Catholic Church are we talking about?” Collapse and fading away are certainly not the case in the Byzantine…
A man from the Midwest named Joe introduced himself to me the other day and said he had something for me. Since we were surrounded by a gathering of Catholic men, I assumed he was about to hand me a rosary or a pamphlet about a ministry. Instead, he reached into his pocket for my…
The Vikings frequently sacked monasteries across Europe since they were isolated, poorly defended, and held vast wealth, artifacts, and livestock. With prayer and penance, the monks eventually prevailed and converted the Vikings. Today, something different is happening. A new round of sacking is taking place. However, no Vikings or barbarians are despoiling the convents and…
Although the Holy Catholic Church will persist until the end of time, there have been moments in time when it has seemed beyond hope of resuscitation. The year 1968 was one of those moments, so much so that we shouldn’t be afraid to call it “The Year of Catholic Death.” 1968 featured death in many…
On the Feast of the Nativity, II. Appointed for the Annunciation in the Office. Let us be glad in the Lord, dearly-beloved, and rejoice with spiritual joy that there has dawned for us the day of ever-new redemption, of ancient preparation , of eternal bliss. For as the year rolls round, there recurs for us…
Above: the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, one of two locations traditionally believed to be the actual site of the Annunciation. This is a great day, not only to man, but even to God himself; for it is the anniversary of the most solemn event that time has ever witnessed. On this day, the…
Above: Arequipa, Peru. As a young man, I recall an anthology containing a Russian nineteenth-century chronicle of a missionary priest in Siberia near Mongolia. This priest initially judged himself a missionary success by leading a family to accept Jesus and the Mary. He gave them icons to put into their dwelling, as a newly christened…
What is the leading cause of death? Does anyone out there know? What do all the experts say? Suppose we ask them; perhaps they’ll tell us. Heart disease, they say, is the reason most people die. But is that strictly true? Yes, but only in an immediate and proximate sense. But remotely? I mean, what…
When I learned through a friend that Chuck (Carlos Ray) Norris passed on last Thursday, March 19, 2026, I thought to myself, “Is this even possible?” Or was it that death had a near-Chuck Norris experience? Immediately afterward, my Facebook feed was filled with Grim Reaper memes suggesting that Chuck replaced death itself. The Babylon…
This text is taken from The Liturgical Year, authored by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875) The Station, in Rome, was formerly the church of the martyr Saint Cyriacus, and as such it is still given in the Roman Missal; but this holy sanctuary having been destroyed, and the relics of the holy deacon translated to the…
