Left

All sorts of strange animals bounded through medieval minds. There were the blemmyes, beings who wore their faces on the front of their torsos, and the bonnacons, bullish beasts that fought their foes with fireballs of dung. There were sea monks and mermaids and mermen, not to mention the many species of sea serpents. And while barnacle birds fell from trees as if they were fruit, some mythical sheep were thought to be suspiciously strong thanks to the wriggling worms that sat inside their brains. Of course, certain creatures appeared in the stories and artworks of the Middle Ages and Renaissance much more than others. In many ways, the dragon, the griffin, and the unicorn were the three mythical darlings of medieval Europe. They appeared again and again, in written words and in illustrati...

Our Father, Fr. Rupnik, and the devil’s paradox Skip to content Happy Friday friends, JD’s in Rome this week and bringing us some seriously important reporting, which we’ll get to presently. I’m back at my desk after a retreat, as I mentioned last Friday. And I’d like to start by saying a few things about that. It was a very fruitful three days for me, for my marriage, and by extension, for my family.  I’m grateful I was able to go, and I am thus grateful to JD for picking up the slack at the synod, and to all of you who sent me some deeply kind and often touchingly personal notes of encouragement — I prayed for you all while I was away.  As most of you know, self-disclosure isn’t really my thing, and I have an aversion to too much “feelings talk.” But I know too well that the co...

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, says the Synod on Synodality is not an episcopal assembly but more like an Anglican synodal meeting, and is being used by some participants as a means to prepare the Catholic Church to accept ideologies that run contrary to Scripture and Tradition.  In an extensive Oct. 24 interview with the Register, Cardinal Müller also warned that some in the assembly are “abusing the Holy Spirit” in order to introduce “new doctrines” such as an acceptance of homosexuality, women priests and a change in Church governance. As one of 52 delegates personally chosen by Pope Francis to attend the Oct. 4-29 meeting, the first of two assemblies which will conclude in 2024, the German cardinal partic...

COMMENTARY: The whole stomach-churning affair has constituted another major stain on Pope Francis’ record on sex abuse cases. VATICAN CITY — With the world media in Rome to cover the signature synodality initiative of Pope Francis, a stomach-churning Jesuit scandal returned to dominate the news. To the outrage of victims, the shock of the assembled synod delegates, the bewilderment of bishops and the shame of the Holy See, it turned out that the world’s most infamous Jesuit abuser, Father Marko Rupnik, had been returned to ministry in a Slovenian diocese. The news rocketed around Rome on Wednesday evening. On Friday, with the Vatican engaged in intense damage control, the Holy Father reversed himself in the face of a media outcry. He directed that the Rupnik case be reopened at the Dicaste...

By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | Oct 27, 2023 It is perhaps typical of the current pontificate that the Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God should embrace the theme that the “Church must listen to everyone”. Unfortunately, this emphasis suggests also that the Church herself has nothing to say. And, to speak the full truth, there is something just “a little bit off”—indeed, one might more accurately describe it as “diabolically creepy”—about a Church which, through a process of endless listening, never actually comes to the point. Moreover, the current pontificate provides a sort of inverted case study of “listening”. Francis has consistently separated both the members of the Church and the the citizens of the wo...

The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant is found in ancient Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist sources dating all the way back to 500 B.C. The parable is meant to illustrate human fallibility in light of the divine mystery.  The first blind man put out his hand and touched the side of the elephant. “How smooth! An elephant is like a wall.” The second blind man put out his hand and touched the trunk of the elephant. “How round! An elephant is like a snake.” The third blind man put out his hand and touched the tusk of the elephant. “How sharp! An elephant is like a spear.” The fourth blind man put out his hand and touched the leg of the elephant. “How tall! An elephant is like a tree.” The fifth blind man reached out his hand and touched the ear of the elephant. “How wide! An elephant is lik...

[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 very difficult time. The spiritual dimensions here are profound. We even dive into the what a priest actually does when he administers Viaticum, also known as last rites. So powerful!! (In a hurry? Skip forward to Fr. Michael’s practical tips for ovecoming fear of death.) My hope with this episode is that you would be comforted, knowing that death is a holy experience, and all fear is replaced wi...

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? How can understanding ghosts actually help us grow in holiness? And more! Let us know where we can send What is a Ghost and watch your inbox for our brand-new resource Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums

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 is remarkable for a body which exists as a consultative help to the pope, and whose conclusions are meant to be subject to his discernment and authority. Do attendees in Rome see themselves as dependent on Francis for legitimacy? Or is the body now setting itself up as its own voice, separate from the pope, and pursuing its own agenda?  If the latter, does it risk deepening the ecclesiastica...

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 recognition, he truly served in this role by helping our secular age to come to know Jesus Christ more fully, especially as he is encountered in faith and the beauty of the liturgy. He pinpointed our major challenge — the eclipse of God in the world — and also the solution: an encounter with Christ that opens up life’s great adventure.   Ratzinger possessed a unique gift of speaking profou...

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. Mother and nurse of ALL arts. Here is a profound matter of the first importance. In every area of human practicality, the proper approach is that of ‘art.’ An art is a know-how, a reasoned ability of taking determinate means to achieve an end. Each person cannot be an expert in the various arts; it takes time, study, and experience to master an art. But nonetheless in all we do, such as in building...

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 decades, some of which have been largely veiled until now — until this book by Archbishop Georg Gänswein. (The book was first published earlier this year in Italian under the somewhat more provocative main title Nient’altro che la Verità [Nothing But the Truth], but St. Augustine’s Press has translated it to English with a new title.) In early 2003, Cardinal Ratzinger asked Msgr. Georg Gänswein to be...