Manos

A painting depicting the Nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in a manger, and shepherds. The text reads: "Come let us adore Him born of the Virgin Mary for our salvation." Rich colors with blue, red, and earth tones."

Who is this Savior Born of Mary?

Christmas is wrought with contradictions and hope. I love it. I always have to wonder just Who people think Jesus is and what His Incarnation means for us today, though. Besought with an authoritarian government, the encroachment of Marxist demoralization, and myriads of distractions foisted on us by the mass media, it is difficult sometimes…

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A leprechaun with a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, next to a winged horse. Text reads: "Empty Promises at the End of the Sash." Vibrant colors with green fields and a rainbow."

Bishop Paprocki is Stealing their happiness? !

You’ve seen the headlines by now:  Bishop Paprocki of Springfield diocese is going to perform an exorcism at the same time as the Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signs a bill into law that enacts so-call marriages between persons of the same sex (as if that were possible anywhere in God’s creation). The story is…

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Carved stone with Latin text "Tempus Fugit" and "Memento Mori." The carving is in a light beige color, featuring an hourglass symbol. This reflects Catholic themes of mortality and the passage of time."

Until the Choir Sings “Amen” – One Easy Secret to a Happy Death

“Life is a play in which for a short time one man represents a judge, another a general, and so on; after the play no further account is made of the dignity which each one had.” –St. John Chrysostom It’s that time of year when we ought to have been focused on the eleventh and…

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A fiery object streaking through a blue sky with white clouds, leaving a trail of smoke and flames.

Fire From Heaven and St. Michael’s Tears

Somewhere in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty there is claimed to have been placed a plaque inscribed with a passage from the sonnet The New Colossus written by Emma Lazarus.  The passage compares the two bronze statues for purpose: Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land…

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A book titled "The Dark Night of the Body: Why reverence comes first in intimate relations" by Alice von Hildebrand. The book is placed inside a cardboard box with other books visible in the background. The cover features a dark, reflective design."

Dark Night Arrives

Finally, today, I had a box in my mailbox — I was hoping, and it turned out to be the box for which I have been waiting. The Fall catalog of Roman Catholic Books advertised this saucy title from Dr. Alice von Hildebrand: It is precisely what it says:  a critique of the Theology of the…

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A serene cemetery with gravestones and trees in autumn colors, featuring a bright yellow leaf on the ground. The scene is bathed in warm sunlight, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Spring a Friend — the All Souls Day way

“Not by weeping,” says St. John Chrysostom, “but by prayer and almsgiving are the dead relieved.”  Know anybody that passed away this past year? Time to visit their grave and pray for them, because you can get a soul out of purgatory today due to that wrinkle which permits a plenary indulgence to be gained for…

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Pope Wrestles Mania, Disappoints Some

With my post about the Pope Francis interview the other day, in the aftermath of that interview, we see people picking up their toys to go home and saying things like “the pope doesn’t support this so I give up.” Or, see for example this article from Rorate Coeli blog (FAIR WARNING: the melodrama and…

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A bright orange background with bold black text explaining a removed parody image of Pope Francis due to copyright issues. A warning sign is present at the bottom, with a black and yellow color scheme. The text discusses fair use laws and licensing fees for parody content.

Francis, the object of Modern Tribalism

If you aren’t laughing at the idiots all fighting amongst themselves in reaction to Pope Francis’s interview, yet, then I hope this post will give you a perch from which you can start to laugh with me.  Yes, I was irritated at first, rightly so, but as I think it over, I’m finding a lot…

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A black and white diamond-shaped emblem featuring a cross at the top and the letters "BTF" in bold, stylized font. The design suggests a Catholic theme with the prominent cross."

The Controversial Sign of Redemption: the heart of our logo.

Saint Thomas Aquinas would complete all of his works while meditating upon a Crucifix. It is said that after he finished writing the words to the song, Pange Lingua, the Corpus on his cross came to life and said, “Well done, Thomas”. At the end of his life, while Saint Thomas was meditating again on…

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A composite image featuring Pope Francis and Our Lady of Guadalupe with text discussing copyright infringement. The background is dark, with the figures in color and a prominent warning about stolen images. Text reads: "THE IMAGE WAS STOLEN! Despite the composite being fair use, it was also a beautiful composite, probably the best composite ever. Known by a lack of fair use knowledge anyway that it was stolen, but in 2023 - 10 years later - we got a demand for infringement and license fees for using 'Pope Francis' in this image - and they wanted a license fee as if we used a 8000x6000 size image on a commercial product making money off the use or something! We'd win in court - like in all those other cases we had to go through. But the cost of this litigation costs these days? You would very see your collage was fair use."

Exorcising the Vatican? Pope Francis style. With Fatima, St. Michael, and Leo XIII

Recently the news ran headlines that Pope Francis called for the Fatima Statue of Mary to be brought to the Vatican — in their words “to consecrate the world.”  I…

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