The word “nostalgia” was coined in the seventeenth century by a Swiss physician named Johannes Hofer. The word was a Latinized combination of two Greek words: nostos, meaning “a return home” (think Odysseus), and algos, meaning “pain.” Hofer…
Hans Feichtinger, First Things Wednesday, December 10, 2025 The liturgy wars that have emerged post-Vatican II are as lamentable as they are understandable, and the post-conciliar debate about “Church as communion” vs. “Church as perpetual…
On December 10, 1989, at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers under the shadow of Devin Castle, tens of thousands of Slovaks marched from Bratislava to Hainburg, Austria, piercing the Iron Curtain. Large crowds also assembled at the…
Gavin Ashenden, Catholic Herald Tuesday, December 9, 2025 It is commonplace to distinguish between the Council itself and the “spirit of the Council”. But it is equally clear that there are people on both wings of the Church who are unwilling to…
A turning point is an event that inaugurates substantial change, such as the Battles of Saratoga and Gettysburg or the Eagles’ “Philly Special” trick play in Super Bowl LII. The change is decisive – the future takes an unexpected path that would…
“O God be gracious and bless us and let Your face shed its light upon us.” So begins Psalm 68, often said in the Daily Office, or Breviary, at the start of the day. In St. John’s Gospel, Philip says to Jesus, “show us the Father and that will be…
Anyone who prays the Divine Office will say the Benedictus each morning, as it is the closing hymn of Lauds (Morning Prayer). It’s also called “The Canticle of Zechariah,” the father of John the Baptist, who sang the Benedictus (“Blessed be…
The University of Notre Dame is fully walking back changes to its staff values after major backlash over the school watering down its historic Catholic mission. The Catholic university on Nov. 10 replaced staff values that required employees to…
The Island of Mozambique is a speck on Google Maps, a tiny patch of land two miles off the East African coast. Today, it’s a sleepy UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s also a magnet for hardcore tourists. One reason is its beauty. The other is…
Pope Leo has been traveling in Turkey and Lebanon, doing what popes do on such occasions: Visiting religious and political leaders, signing agreements about further “dialogue,” calling for peace and respect for human dignity. All good things,…
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