Vir Dei Benedictus
One Desire: To Please God Alone Our father Saint Benedict! Saint Gregory resumes in a single phrase our father’s luminous purity of heart: Soli Deo...
«Holy! Holy! Holy!»
Isaiah 6:1–8 Psalm 92:1ab, 1c–2, 5 (R. 1a) Matthew 10:24–33 Evangelium Conference July 9, 2016 The Holy is dreadful and fascinating; it attracts us and,...
Castitatem amare
It is fitting on this feast of Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr, to offer some random thoughts on chastity, the joyful virtue. Chastity leads...
Solomon and Christ
Liturgical Notes: Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Seven Gifts Today is designated the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost; seven is, of course, a mystic number in both...
Gerhard L. Cardinal Müller
Strictly speaking, we Catholics have no reason to celebrate October 31, 1517, the date that is considered the beginning of the Reformation that would lead...
Saint Chrysostom on Saint Paul
For the Commemoration of Saint Paul, here is an extract from a magnificent sermon of Saint John Chrysostom. The icon depicts Saint John Chrysostom writing...
Mass of Our Mother of Perpetual Succour
Introit Rejoice we all in the Lord, as we keep festival in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary: whose solemnity makes angels joyful and sets...
John: A Burning and Shining Lamp
Ah, I Cannot Speak At Matins today, the stammering words of the prophet Jeremias are placed in the mouth of the Saint John the Baptist:...
The Joy of Innocence
Sexual Exploitation, Then and Now The young Italian prince Luigi Gonzaga preserved his innocence in a milieu where boys were often the victims of sexual...
Innocens manibus, et mundo corde
A Saint for Schoolboys When I was growing up, Catholic schoolboys were given a choice of two patron saints: Dominic Savio and Luigi (more often...
Exaudi, Domine, vocem meam
David’s Cry from the Heart Today’s Holy Mass opens with a great cry to God, a cry wrung from the heart of David: Hear, O...
Heroic confidence in the midst of impossibilities
June 17th was the dies natalis of Marie-Adèle Garnier, Mother Mary of St. Peter, Foundress of the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of...
Saint Basil: Letter to a Fallen Monk
Come Back Now if any hope of salvation still remains in you, any slight recollection of God, any desire for the good things to come,...
Pope Benedict XVI on Saint Basil the Great
A Luminary of the Church Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us remember today one of the great Fathers of the Church, St Basil, described by...
Père Garrigou–Lagrange on Psalmody
Contemplative Chant What should the contemplative chant be? This chant is distinguished precisely by the spirit of prayer, or at least by the aspiration which...
Saint Basil the Great on the Psalms
The Delight of Psalmody When, indeed, the Holy Spirit saw that the human race was guided only with difficulty toward virtue, and that, because of...
Saint Athanasius on the Psalms
The Grace of the Psalter Among all the books [of the Bible], the Psalter has certainly a very special grace, a choiceness of quality well...
Saint Ambrose on the Psalms
When Words Soar to a Higher Level Though all Scripture is fragrant with God’s grace, the Book of Psalms has a special attractiveness. Moses wrote...
Happy 108th Birthday, Francisco!
“How beautiful God is, how beautiful! But He is sad because of the sins of men. I want to console Him, I want to suffer...
Thou hast set Thy Heart on us
Thou hast set Thy Heart on us (cf. Dt 7:7) that we might set our hearts on Thee. In this is consecration, not that that...