The funeral for Monsignor Vincent Foy will be held this morning at 11:30 a.m. at Holy Family Parish, fittingly in the usus antiquior, the rite (or form) in which the good Monsignor celebrated Mass for most of his 77 years of priesthood. Please do peruse the review by Father Scott Murray of Rod Dreher’s book[…]
Month: March 2017
The Flood, Arks, and Happy Monks
Fr. Scott Murray A review of The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post Christian Nation By Rod Dreher Penguin Group USA, 269 pages, $34 After moving to Rome for my seminary studies, one of the first trips I made was to the town of Norcia. I hardly knew anything about the[…]
Every Child is Already Wanted
(From our archives, which seems a propos given the recent invitees to the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Science, which has created quite a stir, one might say a scandal. Paul Ehrlich? He of the Population Bomb, who wants to reduce the world’s population to comfortable levels? Alas. But read and meditate on the lavishness and[…]
Saint Patrick’s Day after a Brief Hiatus
A very blessed and joyous Saint Patrick’s Day to all our readers, after a brief hiatus due to technical issues, for which we heartily apologize. Think of it as part of your, and our, Lenten sacrifice. But anon, now that we are back in business, so to speak, I will be posting an article or[…]
Waking Up to God
It is the most phenomenal transformation of the day, born again into consciousness, and like birth, both forced upon us and the fruit of our own exertion. Teenagers seem to resent it most, whereas late in life it becomes a happy surprise, or sometimes, the weary resumption of seemingly fruitless toil. The verb “to wake” is[…]
Women’s Day and the Two Trudeaus
Yesterday, I alluded briefly to Sophie-Gregoire Trudeau, and how she had taken Emma Watson on a scooter ride around Ottawa upon the latter’s visit to the capital city last year. One would think they would be fellow travelers in more ways than one, sharing the feminist goals and dreams, whatever they may be. Well, let[…]
Of True Feminism, Early Martyrs and Thomas Aquinas
The paradoxes continue in our modern era, not least of which is that concerning ‘gender’ and feminism, with two stories that come to mind: First, there is the sad and tragic Emma Watson, the child star of the Harry Potter series, Hermione, now all grown up, flashing her, ahem, bosom in a rather seductive way[…]
The Long and Short of Nukes and Koreans
The North Koreans have tested yet another potentially-intercontinental missile, this one reaching scant 1000 km before crashing into the sea. Not bad, some might say, for the impoverished country, but one uses the term ‘intercontinental’ with a grain of salt, for they have a long way to go yet. The distance from Pyongyang to Los[…]
Sloth and the Vagabond Mind
(by Father Scott Murray) A few days ago, I joined a high school class discussing ‘digital footprints’. The teacher asked them to list some ‘cons’ of social media. My group wrote a couple things about privacy and creeps, which are legitimate concerns, but nothing about wasting time. I said to them, “Do you ever waste[…]
The Hope and Joy of Lent
Today we begin the great journey of Lent, a name derived from an olde-Germanico-English word for ‘spring’, as in renewal, rejuvenation, a pruning and winnowing, so that new and vibrant growth may take root and flourish. We deny our insatiable souls the pleasure of certain permitted but not necessary things, re-attune ourselves in our relationship[…]