Historian Dr. Andrew Willard Jones has managed to write a fascinating new book about medieval Christendom that discusses the amazing social relationships that brought individuals and families together as a people. This perspective is well presented in a brilliant defense of Christendom titled, Before Church and State: A Study of Social Order … Read more
Many believe that Christendom was a rigid and brutal order. In medieval times, we are told that tyranny ruled, and the Church and the nascent State were constant rivals in the pursuit of dominance. So many modern historians have cynically reduced this period when Christianity prevailed to a time of cultural darkness … Read more
Pope Francis’ meeting with the representative of the Russian Church and the Joint Declaration which ensued are causing the most diverse reactions. Condemnation of Abortion…But Praise for Communist Cuba The pro-life movement is excited by the unexpected and clear statement against abortion, defending marriage between a man and a woman, and condemning … Read more
Symbolic acts and gestures often have a greater persuasive power than words and reasoning, though one completes the other. This is why the Divine Savior constantly used both symbolic gestures and employed metaphors and parables. This is also why the Church has always surrounded herself with symbols to make visible the beauty … Read more
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Pauperist Heresies Heresies requiring material poverty for eternal salvation have sprung up since the dawn of Christianity. Here we refer more particularly to medieval miserabilists. Under the influence of the Cathars or Albigensians, who adopted the Manichean principle that … Read more
NEET is a term coined by the United Kingdom government that describes youth between the ages 16 through 24 who are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training.” It refers to 19 million young people throughout the seventeen-country Eurozone. This sad statistic is only a segment of the total unemployed. Failing economies and … Read more
“It seems clear today that the purpose of the Church is not to save in the sense of ‘guaranteeing heaven.’ The work of salvation is a reality which occurs in history…. the Church is to be ‘reconverted’ to the service of the workers in the class struggle.” These statements are drawn from the … Read more
The destruction of a large part of the Assyrian army by God before Jerusalem in 701 B.C. only provided a brief respite for the incorrigible city. It refused to take advantage of God’s mercy and continued in its sinful ways with the predictable results. By the final years of the seventh century, … Read more
The Resurrection represents the eternal and definitive triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the complete defeat of his adversaries, and the supreme argument of our faith. Saint Paul said that, if Christ had not resurrected, our faith would be vain. The whole edifice of our beliefs is founded on the supernatural fact … Read more
August 25 is the feast of Saint Louis IX, King, Confessor of the Faith, Crusader and model of a Catholic head of state. There are two different ways people picture Saint Louis IX. One is as he truly was, the other is a soft, effeminate distortion of his person. This dichotomy is … Read more