Sunday, May 11, 2025
Groundless Leonine Prognostications
Sunday, May 04, 2025
What Universi Dominici Gregis Does—And Doesn't—Prohibit
It is very disappointing that many Catholics are apparently disposing themselves to doubt the validity of the upcoming conclave before it has even begun. These doubts seem to be driven by an overly legalistic readings of John Paul II's Universi dominici gregis, the late pontiff's 1996 Apostolic Constitution on choosing the successor of St. Peter.
Friday, April 25, 2025
Pope Francis Did This Right...
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Taking My Non-Binary Friend to Tenebrae
Happy Easter, brethren. Christ is risen! May the grace of the risen Lord shine brightly in your life that, in Him, you may enjoy the blessings of His mercy and attain unto life everlasting. Amen.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Never Describe Heaven to a Child This Way
The Faith can be challenging to explain to kids, especially its more abstract points. Since children do not develop abstract thinking skills until around age 12, it is sometimes a struggle to find explanations that are age appropriate but also theologically sound. We often resort to analogy to make the point for us. The late Fr. Robert J. Fox, for example, had a great analogy for explaining mortal and venial sin that I used with my own children growing up: Fr. Fox would describe the soul as a tomato plant in the garden, then explain that mortal sin was akin to chopping the plant down and killing it, while venial sin was like little insects that gnaw on the stem, leaving the tomato plant intact but weakening the stem, making it more likely to fall. These sorts of analogies are incredibly handy for imparting the Faith to children in a way that helps them understand the substance of a teaching even if the abstract principles are still beyond their grasp.
Sunday, March 02, 2025
Book Review: Is African Catholicism a Vatican II Success Story?
Thursday, February 06, 2025
The Unconditional Obligation of Forgiveness
Sunday, January 26, 2025
Is "Willing the Good of Another" Really the Best Definition of Love?
"To love is to will the good of another." This quote of St. Thomas Aquinas is often invoked as a definition of love. I tend to see it tossed around in online discussions and I am really starting to hate how this quotation is used, because it has become plain to me that most people utilize it in a way that I do not believe Aquinas intended. Generally happens is someone will be having a conversation about some relationship problem, discussing their feelings or challenges in the relationship when someone will try to dismiss that person's emotions by reminding them that "to love is to will the good of another," generally meaning "Your emotions don't matter because love isn't a feeling; love is something you do, so stuff your emotional concerns and just keep doing loving actions regardless of how you feel."
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Wednesday, January 01, 2025
Praise His Goodness in 2025
Between the Unam Sanctam Catholicam blog and website, I published 62 essays in 2024. I've also been publishing a monthly history column at Catholic Exchange (which is more normie friendly) and have recently become a fairly regular contributor to Catholic Family News, a relationship I am deeply grateful for. Last year also saw the publication of the first three installaments in series of essays at New Liturgical Movement delving into (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Further installments in the series will be coming in 2025.
While I am happy with everything I've produced this year, below are some of my favorite articles from the USC treasury. These are from both the blog and website:
- The Four Griefs of Wisdom
- The Lord Weighs the Heart
- Segregated Catholic Schools in New Orleans
- Why I'm Not Orthodox
- Two Deaths and Two Masses: The Healing Power of the Requiem (guest post)
- The Pax Tablet
- Gratitude: It is Good for Us to Be Here
- My English Tour
- Liturgical Handwarmers
- Supporting the Church in Anglo-Saxon England
- Our Barren Garden of Symbols
- Walking to Church
- "Sunday Christ" Images
- Crises of Faith: Letting Go to Hold On
- Make Your Devotion Attractive
- The Justinian Code and the Emergence of Clerical Marriage in Byzantium
- Sister Blandina vs. the Public School
- The Context of Cajetan's Comments on Praying for a Pope's Death
- The Real Apparitions are the Friends You Made Along the Way
I should also mention The St. John Ogilvie Prayerbook, which is a compilation of prayers, rituals, rites, seasons and events that reflect a Celtic and Catholic spiritual vision. With an original introduction by His Excellency Athanasius Schneider, this is a great resource for Catholics who want to reconnect with the authentic Gaelic tradition. It's a really beautiful book—344 pages on 39 gsm "Bible”
Let us praise His goodness in 2025!
Sunday, December 01, 2024
Gratitude: "It Is Good for Us to Be Here"
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Stripper Prefers the Traditional Latin Mass
Friday, November 22, 2024
Responding to the Predictable Schlock About the "Mayan Rite"
Friday, November 08, 2024
The 1552 Institution of Anglican Communion in the Hand
I am still working through Nicholas Orme's magnum opus Going to Church in Medieval England (which I intend on doing a review on in the near future once I wrap it up) and I am nearing the end of the book where he talks about how the changes of the Tudor era altered the churchgoing experience of the English. In Orme's description of Cranmer's communion service of 1552, something caught my eye. In explaining the details of early Anglican communion and the conceptual framework behind it, Orme says: