Here is something from 2016 which remains fascinating to this day. The other day I read about St. Theresa of Avila’s book that had the famous poem written in the margin, perhaps by St. John of Avila. And years ago … Read More →
Here is something that I wrote a while back. Since today in the Vetus Ordo calendar is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, I figured that it might be good to share for those who haven’t seen it. […] … Read More →
We continue our look at the O Antiphons with today’s O Clavis David Again we hear the theme of Christ as the Liberator. LATIN: O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: … Read More →
I had posted about this some years ago, but on this wonderful Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe it gives us something to think about anew. Gazing at an image crafted by a true master who intended to open us … Read More →
Yesterday I posted a response to a question about the validity of Mass if a priest says “for all” instead of “for many” in the English version of the Novus Ordo. HERE That raised a question in the combox so … Read More →
Happy 17th birthday to this blog. I cannot say adequately how grateful I am to you, especially long-time readers. It’s like a parish which has developed over the years. To my benefactors, those who have been sending ad hoc or … Read More →
A few weeks ago, I posted about going to find in Rome’s mighty, but besmirched, Gesù the tomb of a Jesuit saint held to be as if the Society’s “second founder”, St. Joseph Pignatelli. Today is his feast. Hence, I’ll … Read More →
Today is the Feast of the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs. They were sculptors in ancient Rome who refused to carve pagan demon idols. Hence, they were killed by the Emperor Diocletian. Their remains are in the Roman church of St. … Read More →
This is an oldie post, slightly edited. I am prompted to repost it because I recently had the pleasure of meeting a friend for lunch who had been in the Masons for sometime before his conversion. From a reader… QUAERITUR: … Read More →
On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross there is, especially in the East, tradition of blessing the herb aromatic basil. Basil, or Ocimum basilicum, is named from the Greek for “king, kingly”. May I suggest for supper tonight … Read More →
Fifty years ago today, 29 June 1972, Paul VI uttered those amazing words. He knew that something was not going right. Not at all right. Thus Paul VI: “… We would say that, through some mysterious crack—no, it’s not mysterious; … Read More →
At Crisis there is a scorching, rousing piece by Fr. John Perricone about the synodal (“walking together”) process as a form of naval gazing. It’s quite a read: The Synodal “listening sessions” can easily be dismissed as another parlor game, … Read More →
As I am travelling, allow me on this feast of St. Joan of Arc, to repost an oldie. I think that St. Joan is a great model for young people of both sexes. And there is nothing “woke” or … Read More →
Here is a follow up on a post I had made some time ago about Easter cards. HERE If Christmas cards, how much more Easter cards? I am happy to report that some cards have been forwarded. I’ve heard from … Read More →
Here’s something you don’t see everyday. Today is Rome’s Birthday, 2775nd. Rome and the sun and time are intertwined. For example, Augustus set up an Egyptian obelisk as the gnomon of a sundial. The obelisk of St. Peter’s also casts … Read More →
It’s hard to believe but this post goes back to 2005! 17 years ago! I get requests about the Exsultet, so here you are… again. It is about the Novus Ordo version, but in substance it applies across the board … Read More →
We are today one week from Good Friday. As such it is the feast of our lady of Sorrows. I wrote seven posts on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. Please visit my “Our Lady of Sorrows Project” page: … Read More →
During these dark days, we can benefit from the use of this prayer, called the Breastplate, or Loríca of St. Patrick, “The Cry of the Deer” (Latin Lorica is pronounced lo-REE-ka). It is said that St. Patrick (+461) sang this when an … Read More →
According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church, Latin Church Catholics are bound to observe fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday. Here are some details. I am sure you know them already, but they are good … Read More →
Before the end of 2021 – GOOD RIDDANCE – I posted – HERE – about some options for your end-of-year charitable giving. Now that official churchy entities are doubtful or even hostile to what ought to be normal and mainstream … Read More →
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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
Everyone, work to get this into your parish bulletins and diocesan papers.
The most evident mark of God’s anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clerics who are priests more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than the charity and affection of devoted shepherds.
St. John Eudes
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“Until the Lord be pleased to settle, through the instrumentality of the princes of the Church and the lawful ministers of His justice, the trouble aroused by the pride of a few and the ignorance of some others, let us with the help of God endeavor with calm and humble patience to render love for hatred, to avoid disputes with the silly, to keep to the truth and not fight with the weapons of falsehood, and to beg of God at all times that in all our thoughts and desires, in all our words and actions, He may hold the first place who calls Himself the origin of all things.”
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I use this when I travel both in these USA and abroad. Very useful. Fast enough for Zoom. I connect my DMR (ham radio) through it. If you use my link, they give me more data. A GREAT back up.
“He [Satan] will set up a counter-Church which will be the ape of the Church because, he the devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the anti-Christ that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ. In desperate need for God, whom he nevertheless refuses to adore, modern man in his loneliness and frustration will hunger more and more for membership in a community that will give him enlargement of purpose, but at the cost of losing himself in some vague collectivity.”
“Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops.”
“The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender's inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for every one else the proper pleasure of ritual.”
- C.S. Lewis
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As for Latin…
"But if, in any layman who is indeed imbued with literature, ignorance of the Latin language, which we can truly call the 'catholic' language, indicates a certain sluggishness in his love toward the Church, how much more fitting it is that each and every cleric should be adequately practiced and skilled in that language!" - Pius XI
"Let us realize that this remark of Cicero (Brutus 37, 140) can be in a certain way referred to [young lay people]: 'It is not so much a matter of distinction to know Latin as it is disgraceful not to know it.'" - St. John Paul II
Grant unto thy Church, we beseech Thee, O merciful God, that She, being gathered together by the Holy Ghost, may be in no wise troubled by attack from her foes. O God, who by sin art offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy people making supplication unto Thee,and turn away the scourges of Thine anger which we deserve for our sins. Almighty and Everlasting God, in whose Hand are the power and the government of every realm: look down upon and help the Christian people that the heathen nations who trust in the fierceness of their own might may be crushed by the power of thine Arm. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
This is really useful when travelling… and also when you aren’t and you need backup internet NOW! I use this for my DMR “Zednet” hotspot when I’m mobile. It’s a ham radio thing.
If you travel internationally, this is a super useful gizmo for your mobile internet data. I use one. If you get one through my link, I get data rewards.
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