The Camino de Santiago changed my life entirely and the experience continues to bear fruit. There are a myriad of events speak to me, but three faces rise up from the depths of my heart, from shadow to light. These seem to hold the essence of my sojourn: the Child, the Old Man, and the […]

Note: This is the opening of the forthcoming issue of Sword & Spade.  It is being published here exclusively because of its ties to an upcoming Sunday that is potentially without Mass. As this issue nears printing the coronavirus is forcing many into “social isolation” to slow the pandemic.  Whatever your opinion of such measures, […]

Modern historian and commentator Kenneth Clark said in his popular BBC show Civilization, “Western Christianity survived by clinging to places like Skellig Michael, a pinnacle of rock [seven] miles from the Irish coast, rising seven hundred feet out of the sea.” It’s an intriguing claim, crediting the solitary monastery on Skellig Michael with a role in the […]

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, was the beginning of Holy Week. Worshippers of the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church in Tanta, Egypt were gathered together, palm branches in hand, to remember the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of his Passion. Without warning, an explosion violently rocked the front row of the church, spraying the attending priest with […]

Turmoil surrounds us. Chaos is ever present. Terrorist attacks, violence in our cities, political anarchy, threats of wars, and so much more. And that is not to mention the inner turmoil we experience—the many stresses of our daily lives, relationships which are frequently broken, and emotional wounds. No wonder many are plagued by anxiety. It […]

I’ve shared before on this blog my love for the ancient Roman Rite, also known as the Latin Mass, the Tridentine Mass, or the Extraordinary Form. But whenever I write about this topic, I inevitably get emails from readers who were inspired to visit a Mass in the Extraordinary Form, only to be confused and […]

Has man’s God-given vocation been entirely lost sight of? Look around you. You live in a world that has lost faith. Religion has been replaced by work and achievement. In such a world, men take work very seriously. They want nothing less than perfection in it. Hence, their goal and their norm of judgment is […]

Why did Christ establish one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church? Why did the eternal Son of God become incarnate of the Virgin Mary, call the Twelve, establish them on the rock that is Peter, give them the power to proclaim his Kingdom and even to absolve sins, and empower them with the Holy Spirit to […]