For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41) And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living. (Mark 12:42-44) Easter is a testimony to the transformative power of God as manifest thr ..read more

There was recently a little kerfluffle online after Dr. Peter Kwasniewski shared a quote from Thomas Cajetan (1469-1534) to the effect that Christians should pray for the removal of a bad pope (and given that popes historically reign for life, this functionally means praying for his death). Hyperpapalists, of course, were hyperventilating about the citation while traditionalists reacted with confusion as to how a quote from one of the greatest theologians of the Renaissance could occasion such vitriol. Quotes from Cajetan are frequent in debates about papal authority. The renowned 16th cent ..read more

One of the most unpleasant things I see online is whenever there is a news story about some celebrity who converts to Catholicism, Catholics will make snarky comments about the conversion. They will question the celebrity's sincerity, say it is just a fad, he's doing it for show, we shouldn't be happy about it until we know if it's "real," and in general belittle the story. This is so disheartening. Who knows whether one's conversion will last; our Lord Himself tells us that "other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they ha ..read more

Tonight I went and saw Cabrini with my teenage daughter. I just got back from the theater and am fulfilling a promise I made on the Unam Sanctam Facebook page to post a review of it. This is going to be long, so I ask your forgiveness for the extensiveness, but I have a lot to say here. Let's start with the things that are easy to praise... The visuals. The set-pieces, costuming and overall ambience was superb. I was constantly impressed with how well the film portrayed the late 19th century; everything from the furniture down to the gas lights was spot on. There was a crusty, creaking real ..read more

Hey friends! I'm probably going to be taking a blogging hiatus for February. Don't worry, I am fine, not burned out or nothing like that (if anything, I've got more writing ideas swirling in my head than ever before). I have some professional matters I need to clear off my plate and some writing commitments for other platforms I need to attend to, so I'll be busy with that for awhile.  Take it easy, folks. Catch up with you mid-Lent ..read more

In the aftermath of Fiducia supplicans, I think one of the greatest tragedies we are witnessing is the obfuscation of the way grace draws us despite our weaknesses. There are two aspects to this obfuscation, the first relating to our real capacity to obstruct grace, the second relating to the ability of grace to reach us despite our sins. We will consider each in turn. I. Our Real Capacity to Obstruct Grace When we pray for grace, we are asking for God to render assistance to us in some way: perhaps by resisting a temptation, or by growing in a virtue, or for a favorable outcome for some ..read more

If you read Traditional Catholic content, you've likely come across Rob Marco. Rob is probably best known for his blog, Pater Familias, but he also publishes regularly in Crisis Magazine, and has also appeared in Catholic World Report, OnePeterFive, and various other outlets. Rob is also a friend and a longtime supporter of this blog—I actually first met him in the combox on my posts. It is therefore my pleasure to announce the publication of a new book featuring a collection of Mr. Marco's greatest essays entitled Wisdom and Folly: Essays on Faith, Life, and Everything in Betwee ..read more

Recent events make it ever more obvious that the modern Church seems paralyzed when it comes to its moral teaching. There are so many today who openly dissent from fundamental principles of Catholic morality, many in the highest seats of power within the Church. This is old news. But even among those inclined to defend traditional morality, there seems a growing uncertainty about how to explain it.  Similarly, the Catholic laity are as little disposed as ever to live by them. I recall the complaint of the bishops in the Instrumentum Laboris of the 2014 Synod on the Family that a m ..read more

This is the seventeenth year I have posted one of these New Years' posts. Typically I sum up the year in blogging and highlight some of my favorite posts and projects I was involved with, then offer some concluding thoughts on the year as a whole. I did 43 articles on the blog this past year and was particularly happy with the writing; in fact, I think some of my personal favorites I've ever written came from 2023. I'd like to highlight my favorites: Farewell Reflections on Benedict XVI Statistics on Motu Proprios 1978-PresentPost-Conciliar Turmoil Memorialized in StoneDeath Penalty ..read more

Today is the final day of 2023. What a momentous year it has been, for better and certainly for worse. But rather than offer my poor commentary, I'm going to post a correspondance from the respected Belgian philosopher Marcel De Corte (1905-1994) to French journalist Jean Madiran. De Corte was a neo-Thomist who taught philosophy at the University of Liège, specializing in ancient philosophy and moral philosophy. Like many Catholic intellectuals, Marcel De Corte was deeply troubled by the reforms following Vatican II. In February 1970, he wrote a letter to his friend, the journalist Jean Madi ..read more