Author: S&P
Pope Francis Calls for Friday, Oct. 27, to Be Observed as Day of Fasting and Prayer for the Holy Land…
Here are several ways to take part: Attend Mass If your local parish is already planning to have a Mass for this day of prayer for the Holy Land, consider attending. Some archdioceses have already announced Masses taking place, such as those of Detroit and Philadelphia. However, if you’re unable to make it or your parish is not having a Mass specifically for this day, you can also attend a daily M...
If you watch nothing else this week, watch this: How to live without fear of death, and how to have a holy death…
[embedded content] Are you guys ready for this? This is a very special episode that is near and dear to my heart. I got to sit down with Fr. Michael O’Loughlin, a great friend of mine. He recently drove six hours to be with my mother-in-law in the final hours of her life and subsequently celebrated her funeral Mass. In my conversation with Fr. Michael, we recount all that he did for my family in a...
The transfer of predator priest Marko Rupnik is an outrageous betrayal, and an epic fail for synodality…
So, former Jesuit Marko Ivan Rupnik, the priest dismissed by the Society of Jesus after it was determined that charges of his sexual “misconduct” with between nine and 20 or more women, and at least one man, were credible, has been incardinated as a priest in Slovenia’s Diocese of Koper. To be clear, the Jesuits themselves said they cut Rupnik loose not because of the many allegations of his spiri...
“What Is a Ghost?” — You have to provide your email address to read this PDF, but the source is trustworthy, and the eBook is well worth it…..
Learn the truth about what a ghost is—and isn’t. This time of year there’s a lot that’s sensationalized and commercialized around what is actually a very real and weighty subject. We’d like to set the record straight. With our new eBook, you’ll get the answers to: Are ghosts demons or souls? Can demons pretend to be ghosts? At what point can interest in ghosts become an unhealthy fascination...
Sacred architecture and witness: A tale of two temples…
“Beauty will save the world,” Dostoyevsky famously wrote in his novel, “The Idiot.” Certainly beauty is a subjective thing, and one can reasonably find it in the most highly decorated space as in the simplistic bareness, when it is true. And in the places meant for religious worship, beauty must always be true, if it will serve. While in college, one of my sons dated a lovely girl who had moved fr...
A letter from a headless synod?
A letter from a headless synod? Skip to content As the synodal sessions in Rome approach their half-time break, participants are preparing to vote on the text of an interim report on their work. The assembly has also decided to issue a “Letter to the People of God” — a novelty, given the make up of the institution. The synodal assembly’s decision to address the whole Church on its own behalf...
In Unprecedented Letter ‘to the People of God,’ 300 Synod Delegates Urge More Synodality…
In open letter, synod urges more synodality Skip to content An open letter published by the synod on synodality Wednesday said that the Church should focus more on the idea of synodality ahead of the October 2024 final session of the Church’s years-long consultative process. The Oct. 25 text also emphasized discipleship of Jesus Christ, and commitment to both service of the poor and protecti...
Pope Benedict XVI: The Doctor of the Church for Our Time…
The word “doctor” means teacher, not healer, which is why we call certain saints “Doctors of the Church.” They are the great teachers who opened up the truth of the faith for their age, handing on and illuminating the timeless gift of God’s revelation anew. I am convinced that Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI will be acknowledged as a Doctor of the Church in the coming years. Even without the re...
Questions to enliven the Synod on Synodality…
The first session of the “Synod on Synodality,” currently meeting in Rome, is slated to be followed by a second such month-long affair in October 2024. Both aim to build a “Synodal Church of Communion, Participation, and Mission,” which is certainly a laudable goal. Two weeks into Synod-2023, however, it must be asked whether the Synod’s methodology is conducive to serious conversation characteriz...
How Our Yards Can Make Us Human Again…
To be human is to be a craftsman, an ‘artist.’ And for this reason we should not only be concerned about agriculture but also seek in some way to practice it ourselves. Socrates in Xenophon’s Estate Manager goes to the heart of the matter: Whoever said that agriculture is the mother and nurse of all arts was right, because when agriculture is faring well, all the other arts are strengthened too. M...
The War No One Is Talking About
When I was four years old, my parents made me take a daily nap in the early part of the afternoon. I remember this quite vividly and I absolutely hated that nap, but not for the reason you may think. During that time, on a regular basis, I had a recurring dream. A faceless, tall man in a long trench coat and a dark fedora hat would walk slowly down my street and up my driveway. He would then, very...
A Beautiful Glimpse Into the Life of Pope Benedict XVI…
Who Believes Is Not Alone My Life Beside Benedict XVI By Georg Gänswein With Saverio Gaeta St. Augustine’s Press, 2023 274 pages, $24 To order: staugustine.net Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI lived a fascinating and exceptional life. Millions of faithful Catholics not only have a desire to honestly know Joseph Ratzinger better, but have legitimate wonders surrounding the events of his final dec...
