Month: October 2022
Old Saints and Staying the Course
There is something attractive about the figure of Zacchaeus, isn’t there? He’s exuberant and also uninhibited. Imagine a man of his importance climbing a tree to catch a glimpse Jesus over the heads of the crowd. And yet we know he was a scoundrel, for tax collectors extorted money from the poor to enrich themselves.[…]
Thirty First Sunday: Mercy Sought, Mercy Bestowed
For the Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost. (Lk. 19:10) ⧾ The conversion of Zacchaeus may be said to be a consequence of our Lord’s preaching. Last Sunday we heard the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee and given the sequence in the narrative, it is possible[…]
Courage is found in unlikely places. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Hell for Modern Man
In light of today’s feast, and Saint Jude’s own warning of the wages of sin, this reflection on hell in a modern key provides some food for thought. In this life, we forge our own eternity, and the choice is ours: To becomes slaves to the devil, or free heirs of the Kingdom of God.
Is the SSPX Really a Refuge for Traditional Catholics?
Where do traditional Catholics go from here? Of course, all Catholics should be ‘traditional’, in the sense of preserving, living by and handing on our great Tradition, as one of the pillars of revealed truth, along with Scripture. But traditional may also refer specifically those who prefer the usus antiquior, or the TLM, and we[…]
But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Saint Jude, Apostle)
Pope Benedict and Saints Simon and Jude
BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Saint Peter’s Square Wednesday, 11 October 2006 Simon and Jude Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today, let us examine two of the Twelve Apostles: Simon the Cananaean and Jude Thaddaeus (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot). Let us look at them together, not only because they are always placed next to[…]
Simon, Jude and Desperate Causes
All of the Apostles have a feast day, and, on this day at the end of October – the same day that Emperor Constantine won his victory over Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D., and the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate on non-Christian religions was signed in 1965 – we celebrate[…]
Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes
No Pope is impeccable, even if, by virtue of their office, they are at times infallible – or, more precisely, a few of their statements are. Every Pope is a sinner, as well, during their life, a potential saint. Some 81 of them have been officially canonized, about one-third of the 266, so far. And[…]