dailysignal.com

As Protests and Casualties Mount in Iran, What Are Trump’s Options for Action?

adoremus.org

Stability at the Heart of Culture: The Relevancy of the Benedictines and their Liturgical Life - Adoremus

Before I was a Catholic, I taught a history of Christianity course at a university in Lithuania. I am not a trained historian, so in preparing for the course I was in need of a way to frame it. A friend recommended Mark Noll’s Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. The book was a life saver. Confessionally, Noll is an Evangelical, which added to my surprise not simply that he lists St. Benedict and the establishment of Western monasticism as a turning point but that he says that “the rise of monasticism was, after Christ’s commission to his disciples, the most important—and in many ways the most beneficial—institutional event in the history of Christianity.”1 Why? Because it preserved, and in many ways continues to preserve, the truest ideals of the Gospel. As Constantine established the close connection between Church and empire, martyrdom lessened and worldliness increased. While decadence made its way into the Church, monasticism preserved the pure truth …

adoremus.org

On Desiring Communion - Adoremus

I am struck by how even to this day, people express a great woundedness from the Eucharistic famine during the COVID years. For that I am sorry. As a pastor, I worried that after years of teaching that watching Mass on TV is not the same as attending in person and does not fulfill an able-bodied Catholic’s obligation, potentially exaggerated rhetoric out of presumption for safety during the pandemic might undermine my credibility regarding what I truly believe about the Eucharist and its necessity for Christian life.
Was the stress on the value of a spiritual Communion part of this exaggerated rhetoric? I don’t think so. Over the course of this reflection, I would like to explore the history, theology, and practice of spiritual Communion, while also being attentive to the differences between the value of a spiritual Communion and the value of actual reception of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
To receive Communion fruitfully, I must be in a state of communion. Just as one ought …

adoremus.org

Iconography without Veneration? Why Western Churches Need Western Art, and How to Recover It - Adoremus

As Catholic parishes seek to reintroduce traditional art in the wake of the architectural relativism that characterized much of the late 20th century, many have turned to Eastern iconography as a means of incorporating art that is meaningful, beautiful, and rooted in tradition. However, there is a potential concern with the use of these images, particularly when they are employed to “traditionalize” otherwise modernist church buildings. The issue is not that these icons originate from a non-Roman tradition, but rather that they were created for a specific purpose that does not align with their typical use in the Roman Catholic context, namely, veneration.
Within the Western tradition, the veneration of icons does not play the same theological or liturgical role as it does in the East. As such, the incorporation of Eastern iconography into Roman Catholic churches may in fact continue a departure from, rather than a return to, the Western artistic tradition.
Given the evident desire for …

adoremus.org

Foundations and Pillars: New Book Offers Blueprint for Domestic Church - Adoremus

The Catholic Church has had a long and winding history. At times the Church has thrived and been at the center of great wealth, military power, and political superiority. Other times have seen the Church poor, persecuted, or its members confused about doctrine. It has been long observed, however, that at every stage, be it a time of excess or a time of want, God provides exactly what we need. The nascent Church needed credibility and evangelical energy, and God provided St. Paul. The early Church needed to overcome persecution so she could freely grow, and God provided for the conversion of the Roman Emperor. There was Athanasius as a response to Arius, Dominic for eradicating the Albigensians, and, within a geo-political context, John Paul II for playing an integral part in defeating the atheistic communism of the Soviet Union.
In our current time, we are in the midst of an unprecedented corruption of marriage and the family. Our culture is profuse with the results of this corruption.…

adoremus.org

Solemn Sobriety, Simple Beauty - Adoremus

Recently, Pope Leo made some of his first remarks addressing the liturgy as the Church’s supreme pontiff. In his homily for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (November 9), the Holy Father expressed a desire that the liturgy celebrated at Rome’s cathedral should be an example for the whole People of God: “It must comply with the established norms, be attentive to the different sensibilities of those participating and keep with the principle of wise inculturation.” The Pope emphasizes celebrating the liturgy in a way that is faithful to the Church’s liturgical books and laws, while recognizing that those books do not exist in a vacuum but are always incarnated in particular places among diverse peoples.
Pope Leo continues, highlighting a particular characteristic of the liturgy: “At the same time, it must remain faithful to the solemn sobriety typical of the Roman tradition, which can do so much good for the souls of those who actively participate in it.” He made …

crisismagazine.com

Celibacy and Spiritual Warfare

A noteworthy Catholic speaker and musician, Paul Kim, tragically lost his son to a severe case of the flu. Another Catholic chastity speaker’s son was recently diagnosed with cancer but, through the prayers of thousands, seems to have made a miraculous recovery. Jennifer Fulwiler, a convert and passionate woman of God whose words have brought many to a deeper love for God, recently shared that her college-age daughter, too, was stricken with cancer and continues the battle. So many, so young, in such a short time. Perhaps there is more to it than genetics and unfortunate luck?
I can add testimonies from my own life: a dear friend was beginning an EWTN radio affiliate station in the New York metro area when his wife was inexplicably struck with cancer. She survived, thankfully, but it was a frightening and arduous year-long battle. My parish’s Family Ministry Coordinator, who puts on events to evangelize young families, finds that every time she is about to make major headway for Christ’s …