Weekly Insight
Hot Air Hypocrisy
Irony may be defined as something that goes against expectation, especially radically so. It is the basis of much of literature and films – the small guy who defeats the far larger opponent. David...
Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter, Paul – and the Path to Rome
Today's memorial marks the dedication of the basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul - following upon that of the Lateran Basilica last week. More specifically, this is the anniversary of the consecration of the...
Did the Founders of America Fear Religion?
Ever since the New Atheism crowd emerged several decades ago, there has been an ongoing campaign to nullify the great historical importance of Christianity throughout Western Civilization. Indeed, efforts continue to be made to...
Pope Benedict and Elizabeth of Hungary
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today I would like to speak to you about one of the women of the Middle Ages who inspired the greatest...
An Intriguing Take on the Titles of Our Lady
Here's an intriguing take on the controversy surrounding the titles of Our Lady recently deemed 'inopportune' by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The key argument is summed up in the final...
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
The saint today is one of the patrons of Hungary, Elizabeth (+1320), the niece of Saint Hedwig of Silesia, (+1243) whom we celebrated in October. Elizabeth belongs to the '24' club - saints who...
Saints Margaret of Scotland and Gertrude of Germany
Beautiful bonnie Margaret of Scotland (+1093) was the devoted wife of Malcom III, king of the nation to which she fled as a fetching young royal English lass. Her family had been exiled from...
A Significant Insouciance
If the reader wants a significant moment in the history of the Church in America, ponder the insouciant non-reaction from the assembled bishops to the intervention by the exiled Bishop Strickland, pointing out the...
Fakes Abound, but Truth Abounds Even More
We live in an unreal world, which is to say, one unhinged from the truth. One way to know what is right, is to know what's wrong, the via negativa, if you will.
First, a...
Albert, the Great, Theologian and Scientist
Saint Albert of Cologne (1200-1280), whose life spans what William Walsh called the 'greatest of centuries' was given the title 'the Great', even before his death. Scholar, Dominican, bishop, scientist, and Doctor of the...
Pope Benedict and Saint Albert the Great
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Saint Albert the Great
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
One of the great masters of medieval theology is St Albert the Great. The title "Great", (Magnus), with which...
Musings on Mater Fidelis and the Munificence of God
Munificentissimus Deus is the title of Pope Pius XII’s Apostolic Constitution declaring that Our Lady was assumed body and soul into heaven. In English, the ‘most munificent God’, which is to say, a God...
Saint Lawrence O’Toole and His Irish Heart
November 14th marks the memorial of Saint Lawrence O’Toole (Lorcán Ua Tuathail, in the original Gaelic, 1125 - 1180). Lawrence was an Irish monk, abbot and, eventually, Archbishop of Dublin, helping to further establish...
Saints Stanislaus Kostka and Mother Cabrini
Saint Stanislaus Kostka – who died in 1568 just a few months shy of his eighteenth birthday – is one of the most popular saints in Poland. His short life demonstrates two primary lessons:...
Saint Josaphat, Martyr for Unity
Our Lord seems to have been speaking of our modern crisis when he warns in yesterday's Gospel that scandals are sure to come, and woe to him by whom they come, with the finishing...
