One gets the sense that if Edmund Burke showed up today, he’d look around and say “meh, I’ve seen this before; know how it ends.” This is excellent; a piece by Elizabeth Lev which takes a gander at history and finds some astonishing parallels with the present moment. In 1790, most of the world was congratulating France for what seemed like a successfully completed revolution. The hated King had been brought to heel, and change had swept through an oppressed... Read more
H/T A week into the whirlwind sown by a NY Times article that traveled around the world before accuracy, fairness or balance could get their pants on, Cardinal William J. Levada, the pope’s successor as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has written a long and rather stunning reply to the Times, in which he writes very personally. Rocco Palma, who reproduces the entire piece at his site, writes that in all the coverage and defense... Read more
Another podcast of the mass readings for the day, for any interested. Isaiah 50:4-9a Matthew 26:14-25 Responsorial Psalm #69 I may be adding a prayer or two to the podcasted “treasury of prayers” later today. Read more
CLARITY After adding a link to this post, I decided that this piece by Jimmy Akin deserves to be more than a footnote in a blogpiece. I am not saying that the Holy See’s handling of abuse cases can’t be legitimately criticized. I’m not saying that then-Cardinal Ratzinger/now-Pope Benedict XVI didn’t experience a learning curve on this point. And I don’t know what else is out there that remains to be discovered. But I am saying that the media is... Read more
Someone actually asked me to do this, and now that I have my good recording cord thingy, I have the chance, so here are a collection of prayers and pleas that can be downloaded into your mp3 things. I’ll add more as I find time. Unless y’all hate them, in which case, I won’t. A Prayer for Evening Act of Contrition Angelus (w/ Call to Prayer (Bells) Anima Christi Agnus Dei (Latin, Chanted) Apostles Creed Breastplate of St. Patrick Come,... Read more
In a remarkable piece, we get a sense of confirmation, that the New York Times and the mainstream press are doing their best -during Holy Week, as usual- to (at the very least) foment disgust at the Pontiff and the Catholic Church and/or (at worst) create a climate that “demands” a papal abdication. But curiously, as the media talk endlessly about an extremely sick case out of Wisconsin, the Times -which “broke” the story- seems to have been very selective... Read more
Ah, you knew I couldn’t keep totally silent, right? Finally found a good cord for podcast recordings, so I thought I would give you the mass readings for the day, which are from Isaiah 49:1-6 and John 13:21-33, 36-38. I’ve included the Responsorial Psalm, too, which is number 71. It is Holy Week, after all. Sorry about the “Master, where are y’goin’?” We New Yorkers do have a problem, sometimes, with those g’s. Read more
With apologies to some of my readers who are not able to enjoy videos, I nevertheless have to share this with you, courtesy of Fr. Steve. There is madness all about us; noise and roiling anger. Are you exhausted? Come away and rest a while, and wonder and gaze and let go, a little. Cultivate silence within yourself, because there is none to be found, outside. Read more
“God needs only a lodging point in you, an infinitesimal point of truth on which to build your conversion wit his power. To recreate you! Only the power of God can recreate you, but he needs a point, just one point of truth in you…this infinitesimal point of truth in you lies in the sincerity of your entreaty, and that’s all.” — Msgr Luigi Giussani Read more
Archbishop Timothy Dolan got a stand ovation in the middle of mass, this weekend, for his passionate defense of Pope Benedict XVI against what seems to be a concerted effort to undo his papacy, via distortion and a media rushing-to-judge. I have linked to John Allen’s last several pieces on the “Benedict story” and urge that those who have not already made up your minds to read them and also take a gander at Fr. Raymond de Souza’s spirited defense... Read more
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