Hilary Mantel’s Reformation Revisionism

Hilary Mantel, English novelist  died last week at the age of 70. Her fame - or infamy, depending on one's perspective - rests largely...

Reading the Church Fathers: A Review

As I was reading Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine, a brand new magnum opus...

From Benedict’s Peace to Francis’ War: A Review

The fight for Tradition in the Church, in particular her liturgy, is a long and arduous one that will not cease until the parousia,...

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains

(It was on this day in 2006 that Twitter was founded, and I write that not with any sense of exuberance. Here is a...

The Ladder of Divine Ascent: A book to read during Lent

One of the great spiritual books that it is surely advisable to be read during the Lenten journey is The Ladder of Divine Ascent, written...

Evelyn Waugh’s Bitter Trial

“It must be observed that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly.” St.Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II,...

Echoes of Ronald Knox and C.S. Lewis

Some years ago I wrote rather a long winded play, Shaw vs Chesterton, an imaginary debate between two great friends, G.K. Chesterton and Bernard...

Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point Us to Christ

Austin Ruse, Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point Us to Christ. Charlotte: TAN Books, 2017.       With  modern medical breakthroughs, treatments and  medicines,...

Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor

(Saint Thomas More was put to death on July 6th, even though we celebrate his feast on June 22nd, the day when his compatriot...

A traditional gem from a young composer: a review of “New Catholic Hymns”

It is unusual to encounter newly-written sacred music that appeals to traditional hymnodic taste; perhaps it is unsurprising that when such music does appear,...