Estote ergo prudentes sicut serpentes, et simplices sicut columbæ. Be ye therefore prudent (prudentes) as serpents and simple as doves. Matthew 10:16 Prudence is so often used as an excuse for cowardice, that we have come to mistake it for timidity or cautiousness. When we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, it…
“Asperges me, Dómine, hyssópo, et mundábor.” “Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, O Lord, and I shall be cleansed.” (Psalm 50:9) As Paschaltide comes to an end, we will say goodbye to Vidi Aquam and see the return of Asperges Me on Sunday before High Mass. The priest about to celebrate High Mass on Sundays arrives at…
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote the following aphorism: “A dangerous resolve.— The Christian resolve to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad.[1] Like most of Nietzsche’s aphorisms, this short sentence carries a great deal of meaning. Among other things, it succinctly and articulately captures Voltaire’s anti-Christian sentiment, an impressive feat that…
Part I in this two part series can be found here. But doesn’t Christ sort of do away with all these particular loves and duties? Remember the story from the Gospels: Jesus is preaching when a man comes into the room to tell Him that His mother and brethren have arrived and wish to speak…
One of the truths proclaimed across space and time is that human beings are not simply called to love all, but to love their neighbor in particular. Too often, however, in our age, Christians use the second of the two greatest commandments to obscure this truth. We jump so quickly to the conclusion that “all…
Well, life is still pretty surreal around here as I’m still processing the events of the most glorious Holy Week of my life. Easter Vigil was the night of my husband’s Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion according to the pre-1955 rubrics of the Traditional Latin Mass. And, as promised, I am finally getting around to…
Easter is coming. We look forward to announcing that joyful battle cry of the Church Militant, “He is Risen!” But before we may taste this joy, we must taste the bitter waters of Good Friday. We must reflect on the Via Dolorosa and the Death that shook the world and blotted out the sun. G.K….
Last year, I taught “Oedipus Rex” to a group of 20-year-old sophomores at a tiny Christian college in Florida. After a few moments in class, I noticed that the story had not moved them the way (I thought) a tragedy was supposed to. It seemed to have filled them with neither pity nor fear, but…
I have compiled the following list of common excuses I hear about not attending the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). It is meant for those who are feeling overwhelmed or not quite sure they want to drive extra far for Mass every Sunday. It is not an exhaustive list, nor are my rebuttals. I don’t expect…