Consider this analogy. You open your door one night to let in your cat, and along with him come half a dozen rabid raccoons. And maybe the cat doesn't get in after all. In any case, you didn't intend to let in the raccoons, but there they are, snarling at you and eating the upholstery off your furniture. When he called for the Second Vatican Council Pope John XXIII said that the time had come to "open the windows of the Church to let in fresh air." The problem is that the rabid raccoons known as the Spirit of Vatican II came with it, intended or not. You can't separate the two.
Abundant Mercy – Lotti’s Miserere (Music for Lent)
King David had used trickery and deceit to send Uriah the Hittite to his death. He had, in fact, murdered his loyal soldier in order to hide his own adultery. Tradition tells us that David composed Psalm 51 as an expression of sorrow and repentance for the wicked deed. We often refer to the psalm as the Miserere ("Have mercy") because that's its first word in the Latin Vulgate Bible.
St. Paul’s Autographs
Let me tell you about how I became friends with a fellow named Paul, from Tarsus . . .
In The World, But Not Of It
In the World: Politics is a Means, Not an End And in the world is where we are . . . for now. But where was I? Oh, Yes. Last week I promised (or threatened) to discuss the issue of the relationship between faith and politics more fully (see last week's post "Religion, Culture, & Politics"). Something … Continue reading In The World, But Not Of It
Merry Christmas (and Feast of St. Anastasia)!
St. Anastasia shares in the Incarnation by sharing her feast day with the commemoration of Christ's Nativity on the Solemnity of Christmas.
The Christmas Conversion of St. Thérèse
The Lord didn’t need to knock Thérèse down, beat her up, or have her shot in order to get her full attention. All he needed was to allow her to overhear a couple of stray comments from the father she loved so dearly.
Only in the Lord: St. Nicasius and Advent
St. Nicasius understood that human righteousness would overawe neither Huns nor Vandals. Instead, he put his trust in the Lord.
The Lorica of St. Patrick: Christ Shield Me
The Lorica of St. Patrick "The Lorica of St. Patrick" is a well-known prayer. Most people would recognize it as follows: Christ with me,Christ before me,Christ behind me,Christ in me,Christ beneath me,Christ above me,Christ on my right,Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down,Christ when I sit down,Christ when I arise,Christ in the heart of … Continue reading The Lorica of St. Patrick: Christ Shield Me
There’s Hope, If We Know Where to Look
What that means for us is that our first and most important task is to be the best Catholic Christians we can be, before we ever cast a vote or sign a petition.
The Holy Family and the Crisis of Our Family: 5th Day of Christmas
The trends that already looked alarming a century ago have now grown and metastasized. Our great grandparents would not believe by what is now commonplace. The family as traditionally understood is tottering under open and sustained attack.