Pilgrimages are very common for the Catholic faithful, often requiring travel to distant places. On February 2, 2016 I was part of an American contingent that made such a pilgrimage to Quito, Ecuador to venerate the heavenly statue of Our Lady of Good Success. The impressions were so overwhelming that only now … Read more
It is no secret that middle-class Americans are angry at the government and the general state of things. The so-called anti-establishment candidates appear to be channeling that rage to their camps. It is a raw undefined rage that is based more on frustrations and emotions than on concrete facts or convictions. People … Read more
In this age of complete relativism, some uphold the “right” to practice any aberration not only in the moral order but also in the spiritual sphere. Thus, they advocate the supposed “right” of atheists and unbelievers—and even Satan worshipers!—to ostensibly display their hatred of Christianity. To many, such hateful displays are harmless … Read more
On Christmas Eve, as we commemorate the most important and glorious event in the history of mankind — the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word and our Redeemer — a small Satanist group staged a sacrilegious act in front of the Catholic St. Joseph Old Cathedral in Oklahoma City … Read more
The issues now being debated in the 2016 elections are framed as if the country revolved around a great big cookie jar. The benefits and promises candidates offer are like cookies that must be substantial, instantly gratifying and abundant. All the problems the nation faces seem to be reduced to who has … Read more
Speaking with a friend recently, we chanced to talk about money and coins. He is a coin collector and had just visited a coin shop nearby. I mentioned my own studies of medieval economy and its coinage. Much to my surprise and delight, he reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled … Read more
Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba last September, symbolically preceding his arrival in the United States, provoked many Americans to rethink our country’s decades-old embargo of the communist island nation. The Pope’s act of visiting Cuba en route to America was clearly a symbolic gesture that expressed a greater moral opposition to the … Read more
Libertarians support the idea that a government’s only purpose is to protect life, liberty and private property. One way this is done is through an idea they call self-ownership. This is the notion that each individual owns himself, just like one who owns a piece of property. Thus, the government should have … Read more
We live at a time of theoretical and practical atheism that alternates with a sugary and sentimental religiosity. At times they merge. Both atheism and sentimental religiosity contribute to the fall of morality and the rise of chaos in society. For atheists, God does not exist. For religious sentimentalists, He does not … Read more
Alexandre Havard writes in Virtuous Leadership on the importance and relevance of the cardinal virtues – prudence, fortitude (or courage), temperance (or self-control) and justice – to both leaders and organizations. Any person or group that lacks in one or more of these core character traits is doomed to failure. As William … Read more