May

29

Father Z on the ‘Feeneyites’

May 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

Recently brought to my attention is this posting by Father John Zuhlsdorf (“Father Z”). In it, the popular Wanderer writer and Internet peritus presents some thoughts on relations between the SSPX and the Holy See. While some may consider that Father Z is glossing over the real issues and addressing only superficialities, I would have [...]

May

28

Apocalypse Now, a Hollywood Meditation

May 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Imagine that you are thrust into the most captivating film plot about the end of the world. Reality as it is portrayed in the most special-effects-ridden movie Hollywood can make, complete with a Hans Zimmer musical score, suddenly and inescapably absorbs you. Good and evil are in a war for ultimate dominion, and you — [...]

May

28

The Ark of the New Covenant

May 28, 2009 | 1 Comment

In his Epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul calls Our Lord the “high Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle” (9:11). Greater than the Israelite priests — those who “serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things” —Christ Our Lord has “obtained a better ministry, by how [...]

May

6

Left Behind

May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Left Behind is a popular series of books written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Evangelical Protestants brilliantly capitalizing on their “pre-trib” version of the “rapture theory.” This article is not about those books, but about the Catholic custom of venerating relics.
“Then why name the article that way?” you may ask. There are [...]

May

6

The Epistle of Straw

May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment

“St. James’ Epistle is really an epistle of straw, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.” — Martin Luther
That Martin Luther called the Epistle of St. James “an epistle of straw” is a well-known fact. Those just learning it should not be surprised when they read it, though. After all, [...]

May

4

The Practice of Mental Prayer

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Editors Introduction: This is the transcription of a talk that I gave at the 2003 Saint Joseph Forum Conference. The talk is available from The Saint Augustine Institute.

May

4

The Devil’s Doctrine

May 4, 2009 | 1 Comment

There is a doctrine so diabolical, so sinister and wicked that it deserves, in this author’s opinion, a unique claim to the name “The Devil’s Doctrine.” This teaching is sheer poison to the soul which embraces it. Like a spiritual AIDS, it kills the soul’s built-in immune system, the conscience, and it convicts the sinner [...]

May

4

The Church of History

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Of all the “churches” calling themselves “Christian,” can any one of them irrefutably claim to be the Church founded by Jesus Christ? Does any conform to the clear, precise terms by which this Church of Christ is described in Holy Scripture: “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar [...]

May

4

In Defense of Christmas

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Today’s skeptics, who seem to reject something traditional just because it’s traditional, cannot sit still during the holy season of Christmas without mocking the notion that Christ would have been born on December 25th.  If it were just the unbelievers who engaged in this mockery, it would be expected, since unbelievers, by their very nature, [...]

May

4

Praying to Saints

May 4, 2009 | 3 Comments

I’ll never forget sitting at a table outside a café in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while a Pentecostal street preacher screamed his odd form of Christianity at the passing college students. He had the sort of rhythmic drive that Black Baptist and Pentecostal preachers cultivate, based on repeating one line over again, (e.g., Jesse Jackson’s “I [...]

May

4

The Church, The Mystical Body

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

(from a talk I gave at the 1997 St. Benedict Center Conference)
I will begin this talk with a basic question, but a question I’m afraid most of us don’t think enough about: What was the purpose of the Incarnation? Strange question, is it not, since what we are talking about is not only the focal [...]

May

4

The Second Eve

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

“Death by Eve, life by Mary” — Saint Jerome (Epistle 22)
The standard Protestant attacks on Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary are generally based on the same false premise. The notion is that devotion to the Blessed Mother has nothing to do with Jesus.

May

4

It’s All or Nothing — Dealing with Two Common Objections Against the Faith

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

A Note of Introduction: In its first part, this article employs the use of some fundamental concepts of logic, the art and science of correct reasoning. As an aid to the reader, there is a miniscule glossary of philosophical terms at the end of this article entitled: “A Little Logic.”