Catholicism
For Cardinals in Consistory This Week: Mending Wall
Pope Leo has summoned the world’s Cardinals to a Consistory this week, a return to normal practice that was mostly sidelined for the past dozen years in favor of “synodal” gatherings. So now that the Jubilee Year has concluded, the current pope…
‘Nations shall walk by your light’
As should be obvious by now, the Solemnity of the Epiphany (celebrated in the Extraordinary Form and in all the Eastern Churches on January 6 and on January 4 in the United States this year in the Ordinary Form) is the day for the Gentiles at…
Bishops, I Beg You, Take Heed
My wife likes well-made and handsome objects for the house, so whenever I look for gifts to give her, I go to antique stores, or to stores selling unwanted objects from estate sales. Even if it’s only a box for trinkets, I make sure it’s joined…
The Mother of God, Virgin in the Act of Giving Birth
Did the Virgin Mary suffer the trauma of labor and its pains? Not a few preachers at Christmas Mass speak as if Mary did. But a long tradition in the Church presents a very different picture. First, what does Scripture say? “She gave birth to…
Gate of Heaven and Mother of God
Mary is called the Gate of Heaven, because it was through her that our Lord passed from heaven to earth. The Prophet Ezekiel, prophesying of Mary, says, “The gate shall be closed, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it, since…
On the ‘Happy’ in Happy New Year
Pascal Bruckner, the political philosopher, is a classic French intellectual. Raised Catholic and educated in Jesuit schools, his adult thought is thoroughly secular. But he has a keen intellect, a clever pen, and a lively skepticism. And, to…
Incarnation Wonder – The Catholic Thing
Many have likely seen the amazing photos from the James Webb Space Telescope showing thousands of galaxies. Not just stars, mind you, but galaxies, each of which is filled with trillions of stars. Now imagine those thousands upon thousands of…
The Holy Innocents – The Catholic Thing
The Church, “expert in humanity” (as Pope Paul VI put it), knows that the mystery of Christmas (like that of Easter) is so great that it cannot be adequately plumbed – let alone celebrated – in a single day. And so, taking a page out of our…
Imitating the Holy Family – The Catholic Thing
The collect for today’s feast prays, “O God, who were pleased to give us the example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them.” Now, that’s a tall order. After all, the Holy Family was exceptional. Inimitable, one might say.…
Benedict’s Maestro Makes Music for Leo
High culture – and the spiritual appreciation of high culture – returned to the Vatican this month. Pope Leo XIV is quietly restoring some recent traditions, such as personally celebrating Holy Mass on Christmas morning, not done since 1994.…