Hispanic America on the 4th of July
Above: For Spain and for the King, Galvez in America (2016) by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau Nieto (b. 1964) Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. –John F Kennedy, May 1961 […]
St. Robert Bellarmine and the American Revolution?
Editor’s note: due to the importance of the Fourth of July for our current crisis post-Vatican II, we will publish a number of Catholic perspectives on America and Americanism (see the first article “The United States of Freemasonry” by D. L. Gray). The article below addresses the Catholic claim that the American Revolution is based […]
“The ‘apokalypsis’ of the sons of God”
Entropy, in physics, describes the measure of disorder. In the entire universe there is a rise in disorder as, slowly but surely, energy dissipates. You know how this works in daily life. When your ice cube melts, heat, energy, goes into the ice, not cold into the air, even though if you put your hand […]
Revisiting the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Above: The Visitation by Flemish painter Willem Vrelant (d. 1481). This Saturday, July 2, is the usus antiquior feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast was instituted in 1389 by, in a way, two popes—Pope Urban VI as the one who intended to institute it, in hopes of obtaining the end […]
St. Junípero and Franciscan Mexico
Above: Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Conca. The Franciscan presence in Mexico is enormous. Visit any city or town in the country and you are sure to see a Franciscan monastery; in many cases these are massive edifices which are pretty hard to miss. The one in Izamal, Yucatan, for example, is so […]
Forgotten Customs of the Precious Blood
Above: Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, with gushing blood, detail of the Ghent Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck, c. 1432. The History of the Feast According to the Traditional Catholic Calendar of 1962 and prior, July 1st is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This feast was instituted for the Universal […]
The Silence of Pope Francis, Bishops Undermines the Pro-Life Movement
Above: Pope Francis and Nancy Pelosi yesterday, who has been excommunicated by her own bishop. Editor’s note: in light of yesterday’s tacit approval to pro-abortion Catholic Nancy Pelosi given by the Roman Pontiff in the midst of his silence regarding the Dobbs decision, we publish this important perspective from Mr. John Smeaton, reflecting on the […]
The Consecration of Russia Overturned Roe v. Wade
Above: Pope Francis at the Consecration of Russia on the Annunciation, 2022 (Diane Montagna). There are no coincidences in God’s Providence, and miracles come when least expected. In fact, I would say that miracles are by definition unexpected as they are like heavenly moments of God’s power sneaking in behind the lines of the natural to bring […]
Daringly Balanced on One Point: The New Papal Letter on Liturgy
Above: Upside down Pyramid, Bratislava. Like a piece of upside-down modernist architecture, the new papal apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi: On the Liturgical Formation of the People of God is daringly balanced on one point: that the new liturgy of Paul VI is the fulfillment of the Second Vatican Council’s demand for liturgical reform in Sacrosanctum Concilium. On the truth […]
On the Limits of Papal Infallibility
We see in the Latin liturgical tradition an interesting thing: with the major feast on June 29 as well as the minor feasts, both apostles are always commemorated[1]. If the feast is chiefly of the Prince of the Apostles, then St. Paul is also commemorated with an additional collect and vice versa[2]. Thus also today […]