We can trace the desire to understand the universal quality and dignity of the human person as far back as our very origin as a Western people. As I get older, I’m terribly troubled by the move—going on since rise of the New Left and, especially, the Maoists who introduced us to Political Correctness in [...]
Here are ten outstanding Christmas-themed classical pieces, including both the well-known and the little-known. 1. G.F. Handel: Messiah Though especially popular at Christmas time, it is only “Part the First” of Handel's Messiah that pertains to the season—the latter two sections address Christ’s passion and resurrection. There are some 100 versions of this magisterial work currently [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: GIFTS Gather some presents for the Divine Infant by making a charitable donation or saying a decade of the rosary [...]
How, we wonder, can we know the lightness of His burden and the easiness of His yoke? Unless we are gifted by some special grace, this is not the work of one day or one night. We must surrender to the divine pedagogy, to the training that He offers us every day. Matthew 11: 28-30 [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: PROVISIONS Bring a supply of food to the crib: eat a little less today than you would normally do. Prayer: [...]
In much the same way that Shakespeare’s Catholic sympathies are all too often overlooked or ignored, so too are Jane Austen’s religious sense and her sympathetic view of Catholicism. It was a quarter of a millennium ago today that the great Jane Austen was born in the Hampshire village of Steventon in the south of [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: WATER Bring fresh, clean water to the crib by avoiding every untruthful word or act. Be honest in all you [...]
It’s remarkable that "Amahl" should be the most frequently performed opera worldwide, considering this is a work created for a specific seasonal context. Yet in another sense it’s understandable, given how Gian Carlo Menotti brilliantly scaled down the luxuriant demands of opera to create a small-budget piece that just about any group of skilled performers [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: FUEL Keep the crib of your heart warm by giving up your own will. Today, do whatever you are asked [...]
After the triumph of Marxist Communism in 1917, the style of the persecution of Catholicism in Mexico gradually altered as the country's rulers adopted the methods employed by Moscow. On the other side of the world, in Mexico, the Church suffered an ordeal similar to that of Christianity in Russia. The Land of the Plumed [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: SWADDLING CLOTHES Prepare swaddling clothes for the Infant Jesus by remaining still and attentive when you pray, praying slowly and [...]
When he retired from public life in 1817, James Madison turned his full attention to averting a demographic catastrophe. He foresaw a time when a majority of the population would be “without land or other equivalent property and without the means or hope of acquiring it.” I. During his presidency, Thomas Jefferson struggled to [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: SOFT STRAW Add straw to the manger by not complaining when things do not go your way, or when you [...]
There is something undemocratic in a society of machines. Men receive more or less power, honor, and esteem because of their capacity to purchase the use of certain devices—not because of who they are. The capacity to “go camping” proves to a man and his fellows that his access to this or that machine is [...]