August 6 is the feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ. On this day, the first church on Mount Tabor was dedicated. Tradition has it that Mount Tabor was the “high mountain” described in the Gospel as the site of the Transfiguration. In 1457, Pope Callistus III ordered this feast … Read more
August 25 is the feast of Saint Louis, King of France, a model of Catholic statesmen, who participated in two crusades. Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875), the famous Abbot of Solesmes, makes some excellent commentaries about Saint Louis. From the pen of this great Catholic writer, one of the most important churchmen of … Read more
The late-nineteenth-century conversion story, En Route, by J. K. Huysmans is a book that penetrates deeply into the mind of the reader. It is an autobiographical yet fictional account of the return journey to the Church of a famous French art critic and novelist in decadent Paris. The book has weathered well … Read more
Reading Church documents written in progressive jargon requires a lot of attention, patience, and analysis. That is because ideas in these documents are not expounded clearly and logically but rather with circumlocutions and contradictions; they are more suggested than affirmed. In addition, one must keep in mind the principles and methods of … 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
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
On Friday, November 13th, Islamic terrorists carried out a concerted attack at several places in Paris with automatic rifles and suicide bombers leaving 130 dead and 368 injured, many seriously. The self-proclaimed Islamic State organization (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack. Satanic Nature of the Paris Show Among the various places … Read more
The doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ is full of seemingly antagonistic truths which nevertheless when examined closely, far from mutually denying one another actually complement one another, forming a truly marvelous harmony. This is the case, for example, with the seeming contradiction between Divine justice and goodness. God is at the … Read more
Saint John Bosco, also known as Don Bosco, a Confessor and given the title of “Father and Teacher of Youth” by Pope Pius XI, grew up in a poor household, but one sanctified by a spirit of selflessness and sacrifice. This helped form him not only into a physically very strong young … Read more
The ceremonies of Holy Week, in which we remember the sorrowful Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious Resurrection, lead us to meditate on the seriousness of sin and on the infinite justice of God, as well as on His infinite mercy. Reparation to God’s Offended Justice Indeed, … Read more