Minding Our Spiritual Step

Lent begins with the Devil tempting Christ to cast himself from the pinnacle of the temple, with abusive reference to the ninetieth Psalm: “He has given his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways . . . lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Though man lives “in every word

Where Honor is Due

Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen,Let honor to thee, O God, be sung;Dir sei Lob und Dank bereit.For thee, let praise and thanks be prepared!Dich erhebet alle Welt,All the world exalts thee,Weil dir unser Wohl gefällt,Because our welfare is pleasing to thee;Weil anheutBecause today,Unser aller Wunsch gelungen,All our wishes have been achieved;Weil uns dein Segen so

The Snare is Broken!

Through the Mystery of the Word made flesh, new radiance from thy glory has so shone on the eye of the soul that the recognition of our God made visible draws us to love what is invisible. Roman Missal Even as the elements of the world conspire to bring it down, the heart is lifted

Mercy in the Morning

It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to thy name, O most High. To show forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night. Psalm 91:1-2 Among my early morning prayers is one commissioned for daily recitation by members of the Confraternity of St. Peter. Although I

The Truth About the Latin Mass

In his declaration of war against those of his flock too “rigid” to shake with the winds of political correctness, the man who above all ought to serve the servants of God references a global survey, whose results (likely never to be published) he deems disturbing. Relying on his account, the naïve reader might reasonably

That Your Joy May Be Full

Scripture often testifies to the power of prayer. Our Lord himself assures us of this when he couples this command with a promise: “Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:24). Echoing his Master, St. James reminds us that “the continual prayer of a just man avails much” (Js. 5:16).

Feeding us Well

Jesus Christ, our Savior, protects us from God’s wrath; through his bitter suffering, he delivered us from the punishments of hell. That we might never forget this, he gave us his body to eat, hidden in the bread so small, and his blood to drink in the wine. He who would go to his table,

Many Mansions

Te Deum is the great thanksgiving hymn of the Church, highly appropriate in Eastertide as well other seasons of triumph. Traditionally ascribed to St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397), it strikes me as a joyful extension of the Gloria—more didactic, but every bit as exultant in the greatness of our God. By detailing the ranks of

Sweet Rejection

In his first letter to the faithful, our first pope boldly mixes a set of metaphors, which taken together give us a clear picture of the end and means of Christian life (1 Pet. 2:1-10). Whatever our previous life may have been, St. Peter counsels, we are to leave it behind and become like “newborn

Knowing the Lord

It is the “first day of the week,” and the first day of our Lord’s resurrected life (Lk. 24). Two of his disciples are walking on the road, “reason[ing] with themselves,” “and are sad” in their reasoning. It is fitting that Christ appears to them in earnest discourse, for Christ himself is the Logos (Reason)