In the church's debate over the issue of capital punishment I was interested that the pope ruled that capital punishment is "impermissible" Note that he did not say that it is morally, objectively sinful or wrong, but that it is "impermissible". Being interested in words and their meanings led me to look up "permissible" and ponder [...]
Now in Ordinary Time we're back to wearing green vestments and folks quite rightly wonder what the meaning of the four colors of vestments signify. (six if you count the rose and black vestments ) So I explain to the altar boys that red is for the blood of the martyrs and the fire of the [...]
The French thinker Rene Girard had a seminal insight which has shed light on just about every aspect of human endeavor from theology and anthropology to economics, politics, psychology and business development. It's called mimetic desire which being translated is "imitation envy" Basically it is the observation that we learn by watching and imitating others, we desire to [...]
It is still possible to sign up for my masterclass on Immortal Combat and my new book Beheading Hydra-- Four sessions starting tonight at 8pm EST and continuing June 9, 14 and 16. This is offered by the folks at Great and Main. Go here for more info.
There seems to be a pandemic of fear in the world today. We live in unsettling times-a health pandemic, political unrest, social upheaval and disastrous circumstances in the church. Unfortunately, in troubled times there are always some folks who latch on to the deep motivating power of fear. Fear resides like a monster under the bed [...]
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St Elizabeth is one of my favorite gospel stories about the Blessed Virgin because locked into this simple and beautiful account is so much genuine Catholic doctrine and devotion. Here's the gospel from today's feast to refresh your memory: Mary set out and traveled to the hill country [...]
Stronger Than Steel-- the book I had written about a few weeks ago is now available. This is an amazing little book that will renew your faith in the supernatural, the communion of the saints and devotion to St Therese of Lisieux. It is a collection of letters from soldiers during the Great War recounting miracles [...]
There is a rumor circulating that English Archbishop Arthur Roche (who Pope Francis has appointed to succeed Cardinal Sarah as head of the Liturgy and Worship office) will have the task of suppressing the extraordinary form of the Mass. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum-- a decree which allowed almost complete freedom for priests to [...]
Have you noticed how mainstream Christianity has stepped away from any form of militancy? When is the last time you sang Onward Christian Soldiers or Fight the Good Fight With All Your Might? Those hymns have been quietly removed from the hymnbooks by the woke editors. Maybe they are worried folks might become Christian jihadists and [...]
I have been working on a cycle of poems on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Here is the poem for Pentecost. Pentecost He was an unpredictable prophet, but prophets are like that—first thundering then all tender and kind. They kept wondering about the contradictions: a king yet a criminal, a wise man but a [...]