God is always with us. Even in the darkest nights of our lives, he does not abandon us. Even in the most difficult moments, he remains present. And even in the last night, in the last loneliness in which no one can accompany us, the night of death, the Lord does not abandon us. (Pope[…]
Month: March 2025
An Apologia for Women
It seems someone took umbrage at my reflection on Women’s Day, even going so far as to call it ‘vile’ – strong brew! – so thought I would offer an apologia, both in the accepted contritional sense of that term, as well as a reasoned explanation. My point was not to claim that all women[…]
Saint Benjamin and Blessed Jane of Toulouse: Of Persians and Carmelites
On this last day of March, as this year we approach the final two weeks of Lent before Holy Week, we commemorate two little known saints: The first chronologically is Saint Benjamin (+424), a deacon who was tortured to death for his Faith by order of the pagan Persian king, Varanes V, who continued the[…]
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your[…]
Laetare, Ierusalem!
A blessed Laetare Sunday to all our readers! This Fourth Sunday of Lent is named after the Introit, Laetare Ierusalem marking the halfway point through the Lenten pilgrimage, where the Church exhorts us to gaudete cum laetitia – to ‘rejoice with joy’. The colour of the vestments is softened from purple to rose, and we[…]
Laetare Sunday: The Penitent Prodigal and Giving God His Due
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him (Lk. 15:20). ⧾ The parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps one of the better known of Our Lord’s[…]
(W)hat I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts. (Hosea, 6:6)
A Universally Mandated Secular Vegan Monasticism
It’s as rigorous as the ascetic lives of the desert monks, of the Eastern Fathers, and the glory days of the Trappists and Camaldolese. Only it’s not done freely, for the love of God, like these noble souls, but imposed upon all, to appease the false gods of climate. We’re all to become vegan spiritualists,[…]
No, Embryo Adoption is Not an Option, for Catholics or Anyone Else: A Reply to Dr. Elizabeth Rex on LifeSite
I listened with some concern to the recent interview with Dr. Elizabeth Rex on LifeSite news, “The Moral Crisis of IVF: Can Catholics Adopt Frozen Embryos?”. During the discussion, Dr. Rex quoted selectively, incompletely and inaccurately from the two Magisterial document(s), Donum Vitae (1987) and Dignitatis Personae (2008). Here is the full relevant section of[…]
Christ suffered without sin on his hands, for he committed no sin and deceit was not found on his lips. Yet he suffered the pain of the cross for our redemption. His prayer to God was pure, his alone out of all mankind, for in the midst of his suffering he prayed for his persecutors: Father,[…]