And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on His right and one on His left.  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide His garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at Him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”—Lk 23:33-35. We often [rightly] associate Christ's forgiveness of His enemies with the above chapter from St. Luke.  As Christ is undergoing the most exquisite torture of the Roman Empire, He maintains [...]

A couple from another state texted me: "Hi Father, Thank you for the awesome Epiphany homily. I have some 'boots on the ground' thoughts for you. Seeing as how our parish is the fastest growing [trad. cong.] parish in North America (per Fr A.), I’d say the trends here are worth considering as we look at the end times prophecies.  The vast majority of solid families who made the Exodus to [our state in NW] are very young. They are simple, solid and unwavering. Most adults are converts or reverts. The oldest of whom have oldest children entering teen years. It is becoming clear that each large family will produce [...]

p/c St. Mary's of Pine Bluff, WI. There's an English gentleman named Tom Holland (who I don't think considers himself a Christian) who recently wrote a book called Dominion about what is unique about Christianity.  He wrote about how Christianity conquered the West not through violence but through the enduring of the cross.  One reason he did this is because he saw with his own eyes crucifixions done by ISIS several years ago.  Holland realized the inverted power-structures that we still value in even the post-Christian West essentially come from early Christianity.  Holland compared Medieval Christian monarchs to pre-Christian Roman monarchs in the introduction to his book: "That the Son [...]

Matins for the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle in the old Rite Roman Breviary includes this reading today: For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we [...]

Should you recall past sins?  The basic answer to this is one that most of you already know:  Do not beat yourself up about sins you have confessed because those sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus.  (Or, if you are an adult convert, your sins were washed away in baptism.) Keep in mind in St. Luke chapter 15, we have the Prodigal Son parable:  After a significant stint of sin, he returns to the Father and he is planning on saying, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your [...]

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 [...]

Even though he's not completely Thomistic in his treatment of the virtues, C.S. Lewis brilliantly explains in chapter 2 of Mere Christianity the difference between vanity and pride: That is why vanity, though it is the sort of pride which shows most on the surface, is really the least bad and most pardonable sort. The vain person wants praise, applause, admiration, too much and is always angling for it. It is a fault, but a childlike and even (in an odd way) a humble fault. It shows that you are not yet completely contented with your own admiration. You value other people enough to want them to look at you. [...]

Many seminarians and potential-seminarians to the Catholic Church are thrilled about salvation history.  And this is a good thing.  Indeed, new seminarians love to study how Joshua and Caleb took the Holy Land from the pagans.  We all love how the underdogs could beat the Canaanites and all surrounding tribes.  We all know the spoils of the Land of Milk and Honey did not go to merely the legalistic, but to the courageous.   In fact, Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the original twelve spies to even enter what we now call "Israel."  They obeyed the call to execute great fortitude against all odds: Have I not [...]

It hath also seemed good to the holy Synod, to subjoin, to the preceding doctrine on penance, the following on the sacrament of Extreme Unction, which by the Fathers was regarded as being the completion, not only of penance, but also of the whole Christian life, which ought to be a perpetual penance.—Council of Trent, Chapter 14, On the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, Second Session. The key words I want to focus on from Trent above is that "the whole Christian life...ought to be a perpetual penance."  Why does this sound distasteful to even traditional Catholics? First, even good Catholics today tend to see Christianity through a post-Protestant-revolt lens.  One [...]