3rd Sunday of Advent: Let nothing disturb thee
In the movie Bridge of Spies, set in the depths of the Cold War, Tom Hanks’ character is a lawyer assigned to defend an accused and obviously guilty Russian spy. Meeting in prison for the first time, Hanks explains to the spy that everyone wants to send him to the electric chair. The Russian spy […]
Protector of the Indians
Above: the old and new basilicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe. All photos by the author. In the year 1527 King Charles V of Spain spent Holy Week at the Franciscan Monastery of Barajo near the city of Burgos in northern Spain. Friar Juan de Zumarraga was the prior of the monastery at this time. […]
On Judgment
It is written: You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you invoke as Father him who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every one’s work: converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here. – 1 Peter 1:16-17 The Judgment. It’s something that few wish to think about in our […]
The Coetus: Trad Godfathers at Vatican II
Above: Archbishop Lefebvre with Pius XII. Lefebvre and other members of the Coetus were respected by the popes before Paul VI, including by John XXIII. There will be factions. This is the first rule of all voting assemblies, from the Roman Senate to the US House of Representatives. To believe that this rule does not […]
The Demanding Glory of Advent’s Ember Saturday
Above: Greek icon depicting Christ with the Winnowing Fan from an Orthodox monastery in Arizona, United States. Photo by Fr. Lawrence, OP. This coming Saturday will be the third of the Advent Ember Days in the Roman Rite. (As always, the Ember Days come in threes: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, the ancient penitential rhythm.) […]
$18,000 down, $42,000 to go
We’re now two weeks into our fall fundraising campaign and we’ve raised only $18,000 – less than a third of the $60,000 we need to operate through the first half of 2023. I’m grateful to all of those who have made gifts to OnePeterFive to support our work and mission. Your support is critical to […]
New Album of Rare Sacred Music from TLM Choir
Above: the Victoria Consort at Winchelsea Church. Photo by Kt Bruce. Following on my recent theme of good news and the positive effects of entrepreneurial Catholicism so often seen in traditional circles, I bring you The Victoria Consort. Conducted by Ben Bevan, this group of talented British singers hails from around Kent. Initially established to […]
3rd Sunday of Advent: Saving Fire
Some context for our 4th Sunday of Advent and for our Epistle reading are in order. The 4th Sunday of Advent originally did not have a Roman Station church because of the linkage between Ember Saturday and Sunday. Eventually, to bring the Sunday into harmony with other great Sundays it gained a Station at the […]
Fostering Charity Around the Dinner Table
As society “progresses” towards more efficiency and technological advances, it also moves away from human connections and relationships. God created us as social beings in His “image and likeness.” It is through connections that we grow both physically and spiritually. Historically, families, towns, regions, and civilizations survived by their social connections. Yet, as we are […]
Here We Are at the End
It’s not a coincidence that the shortening days of a coming winter coincide with the last days of the Church year. It’s here, at the dark end of the year, that we reflect on the dark end of the world. The times prior to Christ’s return will be frightening, the readings remind us, full of […]