John B. Manos
So you want to Re-evangelize? Catch Abbot Nicholas on EWTN Live tonight
Tonight, on EWTN Live, abbot Nicholas of the Holy Resurrection Monastery in Wisconsin will be the guest. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at my parish this past weekend. His topics were on Christian mysticism, re-evangelization, ethnic and church traditions, and similar topics. I was particularly interested in the re-evangelization topic as I…
Jesuit Priest Van der Lugt dragged outside and shot in Syria
News is circulating today about a Jesuit priest, Fr. Frans van der Lugt, S.J. is confirmed by his Dutch province to have been killed. The news reports make it a little unclear who killed him, though — the insurgents sent in by the West, or the other insurgents. I don’t think we should say it…
Father Hardon on St. Joseph: the Secret of True Love
On this solemn feast of St. Joseph, it is good to have a reminder of just who the saint really is. What follows is a short snippet from a lecture by Fr. John Hardon: Saint Joseph deserves our admiration for his other virtues, but, he is to be especially imitated in his love for Jesus and…
Lent Preparation: Mite Boxes and Almsgiving
Yesterday, I received in the mail a very simple little device: a mite box. Meant to be like a little donations box in the church, the mite box is perfect to be placed in the home during lent in an area where it will be seen as a way to remind us during lent that we…
Pope Francis to Bishops: “we do not need a manager, a CEO of a company”
Just today, Pope Francis spoke to the Congregation of Bishops (reported in Italian here). Yesterday, I asked “if the pope will take care of the Vatican, and I will take care of cleaning myself up, who takes care of the middle?” It appears Pope Francis answered that question today! Speaking to the Bishops, he declared:…
PBS Frontline: Secrets of the Vatican – a secular review of the symptoms of error
Yesterday, PBS Frontline ran a show titled, “Secrets of the Vatican” – an hour and a half show. PBS’s own description of the show is as follows: In Secrets of the Vatican, FRONTLINE tells the epic, inside story of the collapse of the Benedict papacy and illuminates the extraordinary challenges facing Pope Francis as he tries…
Lent Preparation: Earn an eternal merit badge this year
I’ve written before on the notion of lent being a time to fast and on the power of fasting to cast demons away. Today, people have totally shifted their concept and consider a fast “too much.” Those who say that have that luxury only today because the Church has mitigated the impact of the second law. Consider…
Do the American Bishops hate fasting?
I was shell shocked today by an omission I can hardly believe. At Mass, I heard the Gospel about the possessed boy out of whom the Apostles could not drive the demon. We all know the tale: Our Lord drives the demon out, and the Apostles ask, “Why could we not drive out the demon?” And Our…
Medjugorje
For decades now, I’ve been assaulted by people who insist that Medjugorje is worth attention. They would send messages, daily messages, and talk of it endlessly. Some are still that way. I’ve never been convinced. I’ll talk about Fatima all day long. The alleged events at Medjugorje have always struck me as “off.” Since I’m on a roll of…
Fr. Hardon: Three reasons why the devil is so strong today.
Fr. Hardon gives the 3 reasons causing “the rise of heresy and the participation of priests & religious in the acceptance of homosexuality … why is the devil so strong today.
