A New Year and Epiphany Greeting

This is the seventeenth year I have posted one of these New Years' posts. Typically I sum up the year in blogging and highlight some of my favorite posts and projects I was involved with, then offer some concluding thoughts on the year as a whole.

I did 43 articles on the blog this past year and was particularly happy with the writing; in fact, I think some of my personal favorites I've ever written came from 2023. I'd like to highlight my favorites:

Farewell Reflections on Benedict XVI 
Statistics on Motu Proprios 1978-Present
Post-Conciliar Turmoil Memorialized in Stone
Death Penalty: Miscontextualizing Pope Nicholas in Fratelli Tutti
The Cardinalate's 80 Year Rule-A Critique
Tucho Fernandez's "Essentialist" View of Scripture
Stop Using This Word So Recklessly (spoiler: the word is "schism")
The Church's Historical Blindspot
A 1971 Proposal for a New Form of First Confession for Children
The Last Gasp of Our Akhenaten
In What Sense is the Pope Above Canon Law?

I was also blessed to have a book of spiritual essays published by Arouca Press. Titled, The Way of Life: Spiritual Essays from Unam Sanctam Catholicam, the book is a collection of spiritual essays published here over the years, along with a few original pieces, as well as contributions from dom Noah Moerbeek, CPMO. 

I was also busy on the sister site, with the publication of twelve new historical essays:

Father Anunciación Rebukes Governor Luna

Brigid of Kildare, Pagan Goddess?

King David's Name Found on the Meshe Stele

Twelve Notable Decretists of the Middle Ages

The Ordeal of Bread and Cheese

Sung Catechisms in the Jesuit Missions

The Cursing Tablet of Mount Ebal

Understanding Medieval Life Expectancy

The Ballestero Case: The Problem of the Soul in Conjoined Twins

Medieval Examination of Conscience

Capital Punishment in the Papal States

Segregated Catholic Schools in New Orleans

I was also privileged to work on several new writing projects that came to fruition in 2023, a synopsis of which can be found here.

So it's been a busy year for me personally! I'm surprised I still have so much enthusiasm for it all, given that blogs are increasingly becoming outdated as a medium of writing; seems everybody is switching over to the podcast or YouTube format these days (I have a YouTube channel, too, if you're interested, but I only update it like, once a month). So, if you are still reading, thank you! In fact, why not drop a comment and let me know you're there, maybe mention how long you've been a reader here? I know some of you have been with me from the beginning!

I have some great plans coming up for 2024. I'm going to have some stuff about missionaries in old Albuquerque, the neo-Gothic architectural movement, Cajetan's theory on what to do when there's a bad pope, and more cringe I dug up out of old issues of Concilium. If you find the sort of content I do here valuable and edifying, please consider making a contribution to this blog and website. Your contribution helps free up to the time necessary to research and create more such essays. Use this Paypal link to make a secure donation, one time or recurring (Please note, donations will show as being made to Cruachan Hill Press, the company which owns the Unam Sanctam Catholicam website). Thank you in advance. And to those few of you (very few of you) who graciously set up recurring donations in 2023, I am so blessed by your kindness.

I spent an hour writing a few paragraphs about things from 2023 I wanted to kvetch about, but then I reread it and thought, "Eh screw that. This is Epiphany. I'm going to be joyful," so I deleted it all haha. Sorry, you don't get to read my gripes. 

I'll just say, the following year is bound to be stupid, so hang in there. The answer is, as it always has been and always will be, is to start within, to turn the light on ourselves, and remember that "It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God" (1 Pet. 4:17). These times are tought, and we are going to increasingly see people turning this way and that, some to the left, some to the right; many will move down paths that we will not go down ourselves. We will have to maintain our equilibrium. "Let he who is unjust be unjust still. Let he that is filthy, be filthy still. Let he who is righteous, be righteous still. Let he who is holy, be holy still" (Rev. 22:11). People will do what they do, and Serenity Prayer, though it is cliche, is cliche specifically because it holds a lot of truth. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Jos. 24:15).

+AMDG+