Regular Contributions
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…
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…
All Souls Day
Ah! that day of tears and mourning, From the dust of earth returning, Man for judgment must prepare him, Spare, O God, in mercy spare him. Lord, all-pitying, Jesus blest, Grant them Thine eternal rest.
The Real Battle
Excellent piece here at the First Things Blog by William Doino on the Pope and “smoke of Satan” in the Church. Reminiscent of our own posts, here, here, here, and here. Throw up a prayer to St. Michael today, especially for the Holy Father and his governance of the Church.
“The Shutdown Won’t Stop Us”
Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), an Alinskyian organizing network that works directly with clergy, seminarians, and unions,i sent out an e-letter titled “The shutdown won’t stop us.” Their point was that even if the government isn’t working, IWJ is still on task, helping to organize rallies around the country for comprehensive immigration reform. The term has…
The Problem with Catholic Relief Services
Unlike the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which was founded to fund left-wing political organizations and has never deviated from that path, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has a long (since 1943) and honorable history of humanitarian service, providing food, clothing and medicines around the world, wherever the need was great. Over time, health care, nutrition…
A Conjecture on The Pope and The Atheist
In 1965, then Jesuit Scholastic Jorge Maria Bergoglio, S.J. was teaching high school at Colegio de la Inmaculada in Argentina. No doubt he was aware of and took interest in the planned 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. Immediately before that convocation, Pope Paul VI gave a very specific directive to the Society of…
Is Man “for His Own Sake”?
In the Second Vatican Council’s document on The Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), the Council Fathers declare that man is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake” (GS, no.24§3). The Catechism quotes this passage in two places (CCC, nos.356 and 1703). How are we to understand…
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…
Ignatius Speaks?
Ignatius of Loyola Speaks Karl Rahner, S.J. St. Augustine’s Press Paperback, $13.00 Simply looking at the cover of Ignatius of Loyola Speaks instantly sets the stage for the work. It gives the context of the work, quotes from Karl Rahner late in life saying it is “a sort of last will and testament” and “a…