Category Archives: Church History

A short film about Pope (Emeritus) Benedict’s life

Posted on March 3, 2013 by

This is a short film my teenage son put together as a sort of personal tribute to our beloved Pope Emeritus.

Posted in Church History, Conclave, Ecumenism, Famous Catholics, Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Pope Benedict, Popes, Society of St. Pius X, World Youth Day | 7 Comments

How to become Pope

Posted on February 22, 2013 by
Posted in Church History, Humour, Pope Benedict, Popes | Tagged , , , | 57 Comments

Mary, Mother of God

Posted on January 1, 2013 by

This article was first published in 2011. by Joyfulpapist: http://joyfulpapist.wordpress.com/ Today is the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, the World Day of Peace, and the first day of the calendar year in the West. The following reflection on Mary, Mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Church Teachings, Devotion, Saints | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

Posted on December 28, 2012 by

This article was originally published in 2010: Herod was furious when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Pro Life, Saints | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

Marching in step and waving flags

Posted on June 10, 2012 by

An outright theft from Ches: his translation of an extract from Bernanos Les Grands Cimetières sous la lune Down there in Majorca I saw passing by on la Rambla lorries full of men. They rolled along with a sound like … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Pro Life, Satan and hell, Stories | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Medieval Christian Synthesis through the Present

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

Dr. Peter Kreeft Creation of Adam (detail) by Michaelangelo Editor’s Note: This is part 2 of 2 of Spiritual History 101: How Did We Get to the Edge? Part 1, which covered Periods 1 to 4, can be read here.   The … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Crunch time?

Posted on April 14, 2012 by

In amongst our comments, JabbaPappa reports: Le Figaro – “Rome and Écône on the verge of reaching an agreement” From major French daily Le Figaro, in an article signed by its main religion correspondent, Jean-Marie Guénois: Rome and Écône on … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Church Politics, Church Teachings, Ecumenism, Interreligious relationship, Pope Benedict, Society of St. Pius X | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Oh, My Hand: Complaints Medieval Monks Scribbled in the Margins of Illuminated Manuscripts

Posted on March 24, 2012 by

“Thank God, it will soon be dark.” ‘I am very cold’ and other marginalia, written centuries ago by monks transcribing books, shows that not all was joy and light ‘Oh my hand’ … a detail from an 11th-century manuscript. Photograph: … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Culture, Church History | 1 Comment

Hildegard of Bingen – a perspective

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

 Hildegard of Bingen has a reputation as a visionary, a musician and a sort of feminist.

Posted in Church History, Mysticism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The 650th anniversary celebrations for the founding of the English Hospice in Rome

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

The celebration marks “a very significant milestone in the history of English and Welsh Catholicism”, according to Monsignor Nicholas Hudson, Rector of the Venerable English College in Rome Gerard O’Connell Rome From Vatican Insider Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor opens a … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Archives on the role of the Church during the Spanish Civil War are published

Posted on November 12, 2011 by

A recent article regarding the coming Beatification of the Spanish Civil War Martyrs provoked some discussion on the ‘rights and wrongs’ of the Church in Spain during that turbulent time. Aware of my own ignorance of this, and recently reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Life holds one tragedy – not to have been a saint

Posted on November 1, 2011 by

Almost a year ago, I posted under this same heading – in response to those who felt impelled to explain to the Church who could, and who couldn’t be called a saint. In that article, I was addressing those who … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Lives, Church History, Church Politics, Saints | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Can the Catholic Church Ordain Female Deacons?

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

by Joe Heschmeyer What are the Catholic Church’s reasons for not allowing women to be permanent deaconesses? Deaconesses seem much more justifiable both scripturally and by early Tradition. Are different arguments used against them, or the same (ie that the Twelve … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Mass | Tagged , , | 178 Comments

The First Iconoclasm

Posted on September 23, 2011 by

Today, some Reformed Protestants still like to accuse us Catholics of “idolatry”, retaining Calvin’s rejection of the usage of images in worship. When Calvin did talk about “image”, he meant a spiritual image of God in Jesus Christ the Word … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Culture, Church History | Tagged | Leave a comment