The Ladder of Divine Ascent for Lay People
One of the greatest works of the early Desert Fathers is The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It is considered to be a masterpiece of ascetical theology, but it is primarily for monks. Thus, I was surprised when a married man with children started telling me about how this is one of his favorite books. This layman (about my age) usually does one hour of mental prayer a day and lives very impressive asceticism. (He was not bragging to me, but he admitted he and his family try to make their home a little monastery.) Nevertheless, I still wondered if The Ladder of Divine Ascent should be the goal of the average Catholic layman who has so many other duties in life, including family prayer like the Rosary and catechesis of his children. Happily, the man I was describing in the [...]
A 60 Year Old Pastor’s View of Priesthood in America.
My article earlier this week is called Are Young Priests More Orthodox? In it, I explained that young guys enter seminary pretty conservative, but slowly become more liberal after ordination. I asked a 58-year-old Catholic Priest friend in the South of the United States for feedback. (He belongs to a different Southern diocese than the one featured in the picture above.) I half-expected him to tell me I was too cynical, so I was surprised that he texted back 21 points much more critical of the American bishops' interactions with their priests than anything written in my blog two days ago. I asked him if I could use it in a blog post, and he said yes. Keep in mind as you read these 21 points of how he sees priesthood/bishop relations that he went to a prestigious seminary for [...]
RCT 29: He Ascended Into Heaven.
The Roman Catechism of Trent (RCT) p. 76-80. The Creed, Article VI, Section A. Donate: https://padreperegrino.org/donate/
Are Young Priests More Orthodox?
Are young priests more orthodox than previous generations? The good news is the answer is "yes," as proven in the below study. But this means only one of two things: Either younger priests are truly more conservative than older priests -or- the diocesan priesthood in America liberalizes many or most. The above is a picture of the Theological College, the Catholic seminary producing priests across the street from Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC. One of the research groups at CUA is called The Catholic Project which recently published a study on how American Catholic priests self-identify as either orthodox or progressive. The title of the study is called "Polarization, Generational Dynamics, and the Ongoing Impact of the Abuse Crisis: Further Insights from the National Study of Catholic Priests" and it's found here. Here's one graph from the [...]
Bp. Strickland and “No Other Way of Earning a Living.”
Here's the video and text for what Bp. Strickland said recently (autumn 2023) at the Rome Life Forum: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishop-strickland-catholics-alive-during-this-crisis-must-remember-they-were-born-for-this/
Argentine Bishop Sounding Like Viganó
Archbishop Emeritus Héctor Aguer of La Plata, Argentina recently wrote about cancelled clergy. His letter is especially important in light of recent news on Bp. Strickland. Rorate Caeli had the full translation, so I reproduce it here: 1. Priests cancelled. I am not dealing now with what is happening at the international level, but with a phenomenon that is becoming more and more frequent in Argentina, in various dioceses. "Cancelled" is equivalent to a displacement to non-existence when counting the official number of priests who serve as clergy in a particular (diocesan) church. They are deprived of the means to exercise the ministry and are disavowed before the faithful. They are accused of being "traditionalists," even though they do not move according to an ideology. Ideological, rather, is the principle of cancellation, which arises from an elementary and shameless progressivism. [...]
QuickPod: What’s Your Flashpoint of Heresy
Why do small heresies grind peoples' gears as they miss the bigger ones?
St. Thomas on the Resurrection of the Body
I only recently discovered a treasure from St. Thomas Aquinas called the Compendium of Theology. I first wrote a commentary on his book here a month ago. St. Thomas continues the richness of his teaching today on the resurrection of the body in chapters 151-168. I was going to comment on it like last time, but the teaching of the Angelic Doctor will stand alone today. This is what you and I have to look forward to in both body and soul if we make it to heaven: CHAPTER 151 REUNION WITH THE BODY REQUISITE FOR THE SOUL’S PERFECT HAPPINESS We should note that the disquiet of the will cannot be wholely overcome unless natural desire is completely satisfied. Elements that are by nature destined for union, naturally desire to be united to each other; for any being seeks what is [...]
Why Do Rad-Trads Keep “Guessing” Everything Right?
Why do trads keep guessing the outcomes correctly in nearly every issue happening in current events? I usually point out that conservatives and traditionalists understand truth better than liberals and leftists because we put evidence ahead of identity politics. I still think that’s the main reason why we keep “getting it” on so many current events in Church and State. But today, I want to explore some additional reasons. After talking to many traditional Catholics over the past three years, I can say with confidence that over well over 90% of them refused the COVID vaccine. That number may be above 95%. The vaccine is just one of a dozen issues of current events where I trust conservative and traditional voices. Even though one day mocked as "prophets of doom," we were almost always exonerated in cold-cut statistics the next [...]
VLX 139: Mt 23:13-36. “Whitewashed Tombs.”
All about parallels between the 1st century and 21st century hierarchies.