The Feast of the Chair of Peter

On Monday February 22 we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. What do we mean by the Chair of Peter and...

Chastity: Appreciating An Underappreciated Virtue

”Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged” (John 19: 1) The visions of the 19th century German mystic, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, vividly depict...

The Psychology of Fasting

Fasting was an essential aspect of primitive Christianity, as it had been in Old Testament times. That the followers of Jesus would fast is...

Enforcing the Party Line – Or is that Lie?

We shall proclaim destruction – why? why? – well, Because the idea is so fascinating. But we must get a little exercise. We’ll have a few...

Quinquagesima Sunday

When I was a child, I spoke as child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a...

Adoration and Philosophy

All Catholics should go to Eucharistic Adoration.  Most Catholics, myself included, should go to Adoration more than they do, whether they go regularly, occasionally,...

Fraternal Trust and Care of the Sick

As has been the custom for the last thirty-eight years, on Thursday 11 February, precisely on the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes,...

The Gospel of Mark, Part IV: A Prelude to the Passion and Resurrection

Roughly half of the narrative of the public life of Jesus is devoted to miracles, selected with obvious care. To begin with are all...

Keeping the Republic

The most marked political tendency of the American people has been to interpret their government as a pure and simple democracy, and to shift...
Pope St. John Paul II

Message of the Holy Father for the First World Day for Consecrated Life

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II FOR THE I WORLD DAY FOR CONSECRATED LIFE   Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, Dear consecrated persons! 1. The celebration of the...