Regular Contributions
The Empire Builder (or, What I Saw on the Train)
Trains and Christmas go together. It has been so—at least in the United States—since the early part of the 20th century. It is not unusual to see a train encircling the Christmas tree, or to read a Christmas story or watch a Christmas movie with people traveling by train. There is a certain romance bound…
Christmas as Real History
Ed. Note. In this 2005 article authored by WFF President Charles E. Rice, he suggests to Notre Dame students and to all of us a new approach in considering Christmas. In the face of the secularization that continues to get worse with each passing year and in the midst of an increasingly hostile federal government…
Saint Nicholas has something for Everyone – Even Pawn Brokers
Today’s feast is that of Saint Nicholas, a saint worthy of notice by anyone and everyone. He was a Bishop at the young age of 22. (22!). He is famed with resurrecting people from the dead, including three young boys who had been butchered by their father. He brought wheat to his famine struck area…
Now That You’ve Heard the New Translations: Why?
(Editor’s note: The italicized words are the questions asked by an educated 30-something Catholic, who attends Mass regularly.) “Why are they doing this to us? Why are they changing the words of the Mass? What’s the big deal about a few words here and there?” The person asking these questions is a victim of over-preparation…
Catholic Social Teaching
(Ed. note. In our second installment of “teasers” for Professor Rice’s forthcoming book, Right or Wrong? from St. Augustine’s Press, we thought his thumbnail sketch on Catholic Social Teaching would be in order. It is timely as it comes on the heels of The Distributist Review‘s publication of John DeJak’s article on Arthur Hippler’s book Citizens…
The Distributist Review: Seeking the Common Good
Special thanks to The Distributist Review for publishing my review of WFF Board Member Dr. Arthur Hippler’s Citizens of the Heavenly City: A Catechism of Catholic Social Teaching. You can read my review here. (Picture courtesy of The Distributist Review)
Bait and Switch
[Ed. Note. The ubiquity of scandal given by so-called Catholic universities is too much to recount here. One need only to surf the web, find a Catholic college or university and preview its lecture series, theological offerings, campus ministry departments or the general tenor of its university life. With only a few exceptions can one…
For University Students: Authentic Common Sense in An Age of Uncommon Nonsense
I just saw an ad for Google TV. It was entitled “Date Night.” The ad featured a man and a woman sitting on a couch together. The perspective of the viewer is seeing the backs of their heads. Both are watching a screen; playing on the screen is an obvious “romance” movie where a woman…
The Purpose of the Liturgy is Miracles with the Living God
Today, in the wake of so many complex errors inflicted upon the faithful, it is always best to start with some basics. Too often in academic discussions we tend to gloss over the obvious. The basics of this discussion have to do with defining Liturgy and reminding people of the single sentence explanation of the…
In memoria aeterna erunt justi: Remembering the Holy Souls
One of the curiosities of the Roman Calendar (or more properly, the calendar of the Roman Rite) is the dedication of the month of November to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. For many of us, these souls are also known as the Poor Souls in Purgatory–“poor” because of the sufferings they endure as the result…
