Monthly Archives: December 2016

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Year A – Sunday, January 1st, 2017  [The readings for this Solemnity are: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; and Luke 2:16-21.] The Jewish New Year The Jewish Feast of Rosh Hashanah, meaning literally the “beginning of … Continue reading →

From Father Hunwicke’s blog: Henry Chadwick, the towering Anglican intellectual of the second half of the twentieth century, believed that Blessed John Henry Newman was the most superb writer of Satire and of Irony in the English language. Too true! … Continue reading →

From Father Z’s blog: Through an oddity of the calendar, and because the great feasts of the season line up on Sundays, today is the Feast of the Holy Family… in the Novus Ordo reckoning.  In the traditional calendar, the Feast … Continue reading →

By WANDA SKOWRONSKA* (with a h/t to contributor, Geoff Kiernan, whose added comments are in capitals) The new transgender revolutionaries would like to go beyond bra burning and accusations of patriarchy. They would like to change language itself—particularly pronouns—and abolish … Continue reading →

God’s providence arranged things so that Jesus, the Word made flesh, the King of the World and the Lord of history, would be born in total poverty. He did not even have what a poor family could have what a … Continue reading →

Today is the feast of St Thomas Beckett, who was martyred at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral by four of the king’s Knights for upholding the rights of the Church, rights that conflicted with the secular powers of his day. … Continue reading →

From Saint Andrew Daily Missal: The Feast of the Holy Innocents dates back to about the fifth century. The massacre of these infants manifests the royal character of Jesus. It is because Herod believed the words of the Magi and … Continue reading →

Don’t we know it only too well? It is Christmastide, the time when Christians the world over rejoice at the Birth of their Saviour, the Word of God, Who lived and died to redeem Mankind. So, as predictable as ever, … Continue reading →

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas! Today the Church once again experiences the wonder of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and the shepherds of Bethlehem, as they contemplate the newborn Child laid in a manger: Jesus, the Saviour. On … Continue reading →

 The Authors – Raven, Bro. Burrito, Kathleen, MMVC, GC, and Gertrude wish you and your loved ones a Happy and Holy Christmas and offer our thanks for your support over this last year. Adoration of the Magi (1479-1480), Hans Memling, … Continue reading →

“Christ became man through the Virgin, so that the disobedience caused by the serpent should end in the same way in which it had begun. Indeed, Eve, virgin and intact, having conceived the word of the serpent, bore disobedience and … Continue reading →

“Puer natus in Bethlehem” (A child is born in Bethlehem) is a medieval Latin Christmas hymn, composed by an anonymous author (or authors). This hymn is of a very beautiful simplicity, absorbing easily and naturally so much theology in its poetry, … Continue reading →

By Cardinal Sarah and published in the UK Catholic Herald on Thursday, 22 Dec. 2016 In this extract from his new book, the Vatican’s head of liturgy tells Nicolas Diat that we need to rediscover a ‘joyful and sacred fear’ … Continue reading →

CP&S comment: We’d been warned to look out for Pope Francis’ backlash at orthodox Catholics during his Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia today, and here it is, just as expected…. By Deacon Nick Donnelly Pope Francis again returned to his … Continue reading →

This past year saw many significant events take place in the ongoing battle to protect mothers and babies from abortion. The Irish pro-life movement has fought back with considerable success against a well-funded, media-backed push to repeal the 8th amendment … Continue reading →