One of the things I find fascinating about Special Forces guys in the US Military is that they are usually soft-spoken.  One of the things I find fascinating about fully-certifiable narcissists is that they are always the opposite:  Whereas narcissists frequently speak about themselves in a self-centered manner, they secretly have extremely low self-confidence. So, what is the relationship between self-confidence and humility?  The pious answer goes like this:  "One should have confidence in God, not oneself."  While this is true, it does not take into consideration the difficult balance that St. Thomas Aquinas makes between magnanimity and humility.  In the Second Part of the Second Part of his Summa Theologiae, St. [...]

by Andromeda “I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3 The novel idea which claimed, and still claims, that modern man is exempt from the precepts of the Gospel, ‘because times have changed,’ entered into, and firmly established itself in the Catholic ethos during the post conciliar period of the Church. We were, it was proclaimed, to enter into a new Springtime, throwing off the dark and dowdy ways of thinking and being, and by so inaugurating a new human fraternity which would bring about a heaven right here on earth.  It followed as a natural consequence of this happy hypothesis, [...]

by Guest Writer “And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” - Luke 23:34 I’ll admit that I’ve long harbored an idea, albeit subconsciously, that only God could forgive heroically. What I mean is that only an infinite God of infinite magnanimity towards the most treacherous of His creatures could speak words of forgiveness while wasting away on the cross. For the rest of us finite humans, there has to be a limit. It’s the same mentality that St. Peter had when he thought he hit it out of the park with his question of forgiving a brother who sins against him seven times.  In [...]

An author at The Greek Reporter writes: "For Greek Orthodox Christians, Clean Monday marks the beginning of the 40-day fast before Easter; tradition dictates that the faithful start abstaining from eating animal products and fly a kite.  Clean Monday is a cleansing of the body in preparation for the holiest period of Greek Orthodoxy and the flying of a kite is an effort to reach the Divine. Having your gaze fixed in the sky for as long as the kite flies is spiritual and mental elevation." That last line might sound a little hokey, but deeper is something a Russian Orthodox priest texted me at this time last year:  "We [...]

I have been haunted for two and a half years by this "Fr. Z" blog post  that shows how American Catholics fasted for lent in the 19th century: DIOCESE OF NEWARK.  (1873) REGULATIONS FOR LENT: Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, will fall on the twenty-sixth day of February. 1. Every day during Lent except Sunday, is a day of fast on one meal, which should no be taken before mid-day, with the allowance of a moderate collation in the evening. 2. The precept of fasting implies also that of abstinence from the use of flesh meat, but by dispensation, the use of flesh meat is allowed in this [...]