Slavery in Rationalia? Does the title "Slavery in Rationalia" leave you puzzled? You've probably never heard of the place, much less considered the issue of servitude there. It's a curious topic. I'll get to it. I'd like to start, however, with a visit I once made a small local fish store. As I was paying for … Continue reading Slavery in Rationalia
A Dynamic Trio: St. Augustine, St. Monica & St. Ambrose
St. Monica softened Augustine’s heart, and prepared the ground to receive the seeds of his conversion, but she herself was not able to plant those seeds: she could not convince her son to change his life.
Not far from the Tree: Scarlatti’s “Te Deum” and Raphael’s “Disputation of the Holy Sacrament”
Last month we heard Alessandro Scarlatti's magnificent Exsultante Deo. Today we have anequally inspiring Te Deum from his son, Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757). This apple didn't far fall at all.
What Would You Do? St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Gospel of Love
In the end, he gave the ultimate gift: his own life. When his jailers chose ten men at random to be starved to death in retaliation for an escape, St. Maximilian, who had not been chosen, volunteered to take the place of one of the ten.
A Successful Failure? St. Bridget of Sweden
St. Bridget's success, and our “success” as Christians, consists in fidelity to Christ and in nothing else.
Darmok and Jalod Ad Orientem (Cardinal Sarah was Right)
The Tamarian captain understands that actions, that experiences, can communicate in ways that words cannot, which is of course as true of human beings as much as it is of fictional extraterrestrials. This is a large part of why so many religions rely on ritual and formal rites: the actions communicate to us much more deeply than mere words, because we are actually living out what they want to convey. In fact, the true meaning of the term “mystery” (from the Greek μυστήριον) is not something unknowable, but something that can only be known experientially, through doing. Traditional Christianity tells us that God uses these mysteries as a means not only of imparting His Grace, but of revealing himself to us.
The Latin Mass is Not Going Away
The Latin Mass is Not Going Away No, the Latin Mass is not going away anytime soon. I say, this, by the way, not as a regular attendee of the pre-Vatican II liturgy. In fact, I've participated in a pre-Vatican II liturgy at most three times over the past nine years. My point is, I'm … Continue reading The Latin Mass is Not Going Away
Communion with Christ vs Virtual Community
The point is that the Church doesn't exist as a community for the sake of the community itself, it exists to bring us into communion with the Trinitarian God. Even fundamentally good and essential communities such as the family can't do that.
When Our Priest is a Communist (To Whom Shall We Go?) Part II
Our culture has become toxic, and it is actively hostile to Christian belief and practice. Not only that, the toxicity has infected a large part of the institutional Church. What can we do if leaving the Catholic Church itself is not an option?
To Whom Shall We Go (When Our Priest Is A Communist)? Part I
To Whom Shall We Go? "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68) Your parish priest? We live in scary times. It looks like our secular institutions in the West are collapsing, with mob rule on the rise. "Mob rule" really means, of course, a tyranny of the elite … Continue reading To Whom Shall We Go (When Our Priest Is A Communist)? Part I