Last year, the Carthusian monks announced that they would not be keeping up with market demand for their products, which are mainly liqueurs and herbal products. The mother house of the Carthusians is …More
Last year, the Carthusian monks announced that they would not be keeping up with market demand for their products, which are mainly liqueurs and herbal products. The mother house of the Carthusians is La Grande Chartreuse near Grenoble in France. In 1605, the monks of La Grande Chartreuse received a mysterious parchment containing the recipe for what would become the Grande Chartreuse liqueur, based on 130 plants. In the 18th century, Chartreuse verte and Chartreuse jaune were produced for the first time. The Chartreuse liqueurs quickly became a great success. Chartreuse jaune became known as the "queen of liqueurs". Another famous product is Élixir Végétal. Thirty monks currently live in the Grande Chartreuse, but only three of them know the secret of making Chartreuse liqueurs. Today, the sale of these products provides financial support for the Grande Chartreuse and all Carthusian monasteries throughout the world. In 2022, Chartreuse Diffusion, the company that markets the products,…More
The surprising joy of turning 50 Here are seven reasons why it's important to embrace reaching half a century. In just over a week I’ll be blowing out 50 candles. The prospect sort of makes me giggle …More
The surprising joy of turning 50 Here are seven reasons why it's important to embrace reaching half a century. In just over a week I’ll be blowing out 50 candles. The prospect sort of makes me giggle as I can’t quite believe I’m mature enough to be half a century. However, with four children to count for, and a few decades of working, it makes sense that those years are adding up correctly. Yet, instead of feeling a sense of dread, I feel more alive than ever before, and strangely rather excited. In fact, I felt more despair when I hit 40. I’ve therefore been reflecting on why I feel more than happy to embrace 50 years of life on earth, and how we shouldn’t feel such trepidation when it comes to notching up five decades… or even more. And here’s what I came up: 1 I’M STILL HERE! This is something quite significant to consider. In centuries gone by I’m pretty sure I’d have died in childbirth with my firstborn’s complicated delivery. Yet, today, our life expectancy is so much higher and …More
Bells don’t just call people to prayer, they also have a little-known spiritual relevance. Church bells have been with us since the 5th century and were commonly used in the Middle Ages. They were …More
Bells don’t just call people to prayer, they also have a little-known spiritual relevance. Church bells have been with us since the 5th century and were commonly used in the Middle Ages. They were especially used in monastic communities to call on monks to assemble for prayer in the chapel as, throughout the day, they were in various locations of the monastery. Later, the custom spread more and more among parish churches and the bells were used to call the people to the celebration of the Eucharist, as well as for the recitation of the Angelus during the day. However, bells also have great spiritual power. When a new bell is installed in a church, it is traditionally “baptized” or “consecrated” by the local bishop or priest. The ancient ceremonies imitated baptism and the current ceremony still requires the use of holy water. The bells are also named after a particular patron saint, although many are named after the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Roman Ritual contains a very solemn blessing …More
Pope Francis to Indonesia: what for? These were the flattering words of a Vatican News correspondent to Jakarta Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, in a recent interview, …
Gee I thought Francis was at "death's door". That he can barely move; doesn't say Mass anymore - but today they announced a slew of future foreign …More
Gee I thought Francis was at "death's door". That he can barely move; doesn't say Mass anymore - but today they announced a slew of future foreign junkets that he's up for. What gives??
Latest Tucker on X.... Ep. 97 ~ Bob Amsterdam is an international human rights lawyer who’s been banned from Russia by Vladimir Putin. He says Ukraine is the single most repressive country he’s been …More
Latest Tucker on X.... Ep. 97 ~ Bob Amsterdam is an international human rights lawyer who’s been banned from Russia by Vladimir Putin. He says Ukraine is the single most repressive country he’s been to. “The idea it’s a democracy is a farce.” Once again, they’re lying (April 22, 2024)
Understanding Obedience: The True Virtue and Its False Imitations This lecture was given on Thursday, April 18, at a dinner event organized by Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace, in Carmel, Indiana. …More
Understanding Obedience: The True Virtue and Its False Imitations This lecture was given on Thursday, April 18, at a dinner event organized by Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace, in Carmel, Indiana. Synopsis: The obedience of one man to another mere man is not, and can never be, unconditional or, to use the more common language, “blind.” The reason obedience is not blind is that prior to obedience stand truth and charity. Any human being, no matter what his position in the Church or in the State, is to be obeyed only if and when what he commands is in harmony with the law of God, or at least not evidently opposed to it. In particular, to abolish or prohibit or in any way work against the venerable Roman Rite that was humbly received, gratefully loved, and lavishly praised for century after century of uninterrupted growth is the most notorious and damaging attack on the Church's common good possible or imaginable, and must be resisted accordingly. *–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*–*…More
Let's forget politics and news for the a moment. Today, we go back to 2013, when a young girl Johann Sebastian Bach and arranged by Charles. Gounod. Listen to this wonderful …
Cardinal Mario Grech, "synodality" propagandist and secretary-general of the Ex-Synod of Bishops, was not informed of the content or publication date of the homosexual propaganda document 'Fiducia …More
Cardinal Mario Grech, "synodality" propagandist and secretary-general of the Ex-Synod of Bishops, was not informed of the content or publication date of the homosexual propaganda document 'Fiducia Supplicans' published just before Christmas, he told OurSundayVisitor.com (22 April). Cardinal Grech found out about the document "like everyone else when it was published". This proves that, for Francis, "synodality" is only a ploy. The cardinal said that "Fiducia Supplicans" had "nothing to do", either with the previous ex-synodal assembly or with the upcoming one. Of course, Cardinal Grech didn't say that his office should have been consulted. Every dicastery, he pretended, "has the right and the duty to communicate with the Church. This is the normal practice of the Roman Curia". But this is hypocrisy, since the Ex-Synod had explicitly rejected the homosexual propaganda that was spread in "Fiducia Supplicans", as Cardinal Ambongo made clear in an interview with Kto.fr. Grech simply covers …More
The Wandering Recluse
