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BAPTISM OR NAMING DAY?

It is surely without precedent in the tradition of Catholicism that people who still call themselves Catholic can attend a Naming Day ritual in place of Baptism. If this occurs it must certainly be only because the sacraments of the Church, which were instituted by Jesus Christ, are not recognised or understood. This leads to the conclusion that the nature of grace acting on the soul of the individual is also not acknowledged or understood. We most often encounter the … Read More

Is it futile to fight overwhelming force?

That question (among others, of course) is raised by the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine and has wider importance than might be realised. Our Lord seemed to advise that when military forces are significantly unequal and the weaker side seems unlikely to win, the stronger one should be appeased (Luke 14:31-32). British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has ‘gone down in history’ as an exponent of that policy. Nobody seems to have advocated its adoption by Ukraine, even though prima facie … Read More

HOW TO REVITALISE THE CHURCH

As preparation for the Church Synod, Catholics across the world are being asked for their opinion on how the Church can be revitalised.  Has it been completely forgotten that this was one of the aims of the Second Vatican Council?  It is to be lamented that the practice of the Divine Office has not become established as part of the liturgical life of a parish, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council had envisioned. For the most part, the … Read More

The Truth Shall Set You Free

NB – Parents be warned! This article contains material that is not suitable for children. – NB We live in what is known as a media age where much of what is communicated to us comes by way of various different screens – the television – mobile phones – tablet devices – computers and laptops. These screens are being used very effectively to promote propaganda. This amounts to an artificially constructed narrative that the governing powers want you to believe … Read More

How To Practice A Good Lent – Part 3

There is one means more whereby we are to secure ourselves the great graces of Lent; it is the spirit of retirement and separation from the world. Our ordinary life, such as it is during the rest of the year, should all be made to pay tribute to the holy season of penance; otherwise, the salutary impression produced on us by the holy ceremony of Ash Wednesday will soon be effaced.The Christian ought, therefore, to forbid himself, during Lent, all … Read More

How To Practice A Good Lent – Part 2

But it will be asked: ‘Are there, then, no lawful dispensations?’ We answer that there are; and that they are more needed now than in former ages, owing to the general weakness of our constitutions. Still, there is great danger of our deceiving ourselves. If we have strength to go through great fatigues when our own self-love is gratified by them, how is it we are too weak to observe abstinence? If a slight inconvenience deter us from doing this … Read More

How To Practice A Good Lent – Part 1 

Having spent the three weeks of Septuagesima in meditating upon our spiritual infirmities and upon the wounds caused in us by sin, we should be ready to enter upon the penitential season which the Church has now begun. We have now a clearer knowledge of the justice and holiness of God, and of the dangers that await an impenitent soul; and, that our repentance might be earnest and lasting, we have bade farewell to the vain joys and baubles of … Read More

Nationalised churches can be worse than no churches at all

Patriarch Kirill of the effectively nationalised Russian Orthodox Church, not only refuses to condemn the crimes against humanity perpetrated in Ukraine by his long-standing friend Vladimir Putin: he has described the war (without even using the word “war”) as part of an imagined and imaginary struggle against sin and pressure from liberal foreigners to hold “gay parades” as the price of admission to their ranks. Kirill, in a ridiculous sermon delivered before the start of the Orthodox Lent, repeated Mr … Read More

Garabandal Hill of Hope

A Message of Great Significance: The appearances of Our Lady at Garabandal from 1961 to 1965 have not been approved by the Catholic Church. While they have also not been condemned, the lack of official sanction has meant that many of us Catholics have failed to pay them the attention they deserve. The Garabandal events are associated with messages and prophecies that are remarkable and that have huge connotations, which, as time has gone by, have merely made everything to … Read More

Catholic Family Christmas Traditions

My father was a great man for celebrating Christmas. He loved to decorate the Christmas tree and was always buying new sets of interesting lights. I remember the coloured ‘sputniks’ and the icicle lights. One year he hung Christmas tree baubles from the wooden beams that ran along the ceiling in the hallway of our house in Dublin. He was always thinking up new ways to display the Christmas cards. My father loved to create things, especially out of wood, … Read More

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