It used to be the custom, in Catholic kingdoms, for the king to wash the feet of twelve poor men at the Mass of Our Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. Alas, the practice has now almost entirely disappeared, even in countries that still have a nominal king. The one quasi-exception, ironically enough, is England, where … Continue reading Washing the Feet
Faith
Poetry – “Cold Iron”
Gold is for the mistress -- silver for the maid --Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade."Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall,"But Iron -- Cold Iron -- is master of them all."So he made rebellion 'gainst the King his liege,Camped before his citadel and summoned it to siege."Nay!" said the cannoneer on … Continue reading Poetry – “Cold Iron”
Friday Flotsam: The Annunciation, Profundity, and Rama
1. Today, of course, is the Solemnity of the Annunciation; the very day of Our Lord’s Incarnation, bringing with it a ‘weight of glory’ almost too great to bear. Certainly we tend to forget about it as often as may be, and I rather think many of us prefer it that way. Not only living … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: The Annunciation, Profundity, and Rama
St. Patrick’s Breastplate
The Taming of St. Patrick
Wise tyrants don’t forbid: they tame. An oppressor with a surfeit of honesty or a deficit of cunning will proclaim that the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is to be forbidden under pain of law in the hopes that the name of Patrick and the fruits of his labor shall eventually be forgotten and the … Continue reading The Taming of St. Patrick
Words of the Saints: St. John Henry Newman on Modernism
From one of future-Cardinal Newman's Tracts for the Times (written while he was still an Anglican) “Surely, there is at this day a confederacy of evil, marshaling its hosts from all parts of the world, organizing itself, taking its measures, enclosing the Church of Christ as in a net, and preparing the way for a … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. John Henry Newman on Modernism
Words of the Saints – St. Alphonsus Liguori on Death
All confess that they must die, and die but once; and that there is nothing of greater consequence than this; for our eternal happiness or our eternal unhappiness depends upon the moment of death. We all know a happy or an unhappy death depends upon the life we have led. And yet, how is it … Continue reading Words of the Saints – St. Alphonsus Liguori on Death
Ash Wednesday: The Importance of Being Miserable
I think a large reason why the world is in the state that it is in is because we Christians have lost the art of doing penance. Our predecessors, even those of a mere century ago, would have regarded us with utter contempt in this regard. I mean, we’re the kind of people who consider … Continue reading Ash Wednesday: The Importance of Being Miserable
Words of the Saints: St. Francis Meets the Sultan
The same sultan submitted this problem to [Francis]: “Your Lord taught in his gospels that evil must not be repaid with evil, that you should not refuse your cloak to anyone who wants to take your tunic, etc. (Mt 5,40): All the more Christians should not invade our land!”. And Blessed Francis answered: “It seems to … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. Francis Meets the Sultan
Friday Flotsam: Free Thinking, a Review, and the End of the World
1. One of my co-workers has a sticker on his computer that says ‘Danger: Free Thinker’. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, and he seems like a decent guy, but in my experience legitimate ‘free thinkers’ (to the extent that such creatures exist) do not proudly identify themselves as such. ‘Free thinker’ or ‘think … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Free Thinking, a Review, and the End of the World
Serpent's Den 