Salve! Friends, Catholics, Visitors! I have taken the time to finally clear up many dead links on The American Catholic’s venerable blog roll. Almost one-third of the blog links were either dead, took too long to load, or showed an antiquated website that tells me that the venture has been abandoned. I also eliminated some […]
Let everyone who has the grace of intelligence fear that, because of it, he will be judged more heavily if he is negligent. Saint Bridget of Sweden
The Vision Concerning the Holy Sacrifice [Nota Bene: This is NOT Holy Scripture] A Rebellious Cohort Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For I the Lord speak: I reared you children and brought you up, but you have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but you priests and you […]
Low and high, men and women, rich and poor, each and every one of the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.
That is not that I think Hemingway was a bad writer, but no writer could sustain the hype that surrounded him. His simple style is also easy to parody, rarely a good sign for a writer. However arguments about taste are always a chase after wind. More interesting is that Hemingway was a Catholic convert, […]
About three decades ago my son, now also law partner, who was then five years old, and I were acting as volunteer bell ringers for the Salvation Army. My son was wearing a Chicago Bears parka that we had picked up on sale. I was wearing a Packers parka that my in-laws had given me […]
Providence gives us strength proportionate to our sufferings so that we might bear them worthily. Saint Alberic Crescitelli who was martyred by the Boxers in 1900.
After the battle of Peachtree Creek Hood ordered his army to withdraw to Atlanta, hoping that an opportunity would present itself to destroy a portion of the Union army as Sherman advanced on Atlanta. While Stewart’s corps held the fortifications north of Atlanta, Hood planned to attack McPhersons Army of the […]
I haven’t watched The Chosen but I may start based on a few clips that I have viewed depicting Jesus preaching. Too often when reading the Bible it is easy to think of Christ stating His teachings in an almost academic setting, reflecting our calm and quiet reading of The Word. Christ preached in […]
Cardinal Ratzinger had been one of the young experts at Vatican II. It must have been painful for him to see what he helped create turn into something that many Catholics saw as a rejection of Catholicism prior to 1965. But for his resignation as Pope, I think the wounds created in the wake of […]
The ancients, lacking the light of Christ, imagined the abode of the dead to be grim and shadowy, with some sort of terrestrial paradise reserved, perhaps, for great heroes and great sages. In Ulysses (1954), we see Ulysses (Kirk Douglas) tempted by Circe, portrayed by the same actress Silvana Mangano who also plays Penelope, with […]
All things are possible for him who believes, more to him who hopes, even more to him who loves. Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
A lot of positive posts on Twitter the past few weeks about Nixon, attempting to give the impression that he is a favorite among young conservatives. Not buying it myself. It has the feel of an astro-turfed effort, and not a true grass roots phenomenon. Nixon was not a conservative. Domestically he was a liberal […]
The First Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas as the Confederates called it, was the first major battle of the Civil War. A Confederate victory, it gave lessons to those paying attention: 1. It amply demonstrated the hazards of sending half-trained troops into combat. Both the Union and Confederate armies were green, and […]
There is a reason why the Romans ranked actors socially with prostitutes.
You may tear my body to pieces and burn my limbs, but my soul belongs to God forever. Said by Saint Margaret of Antioch shortly before her martyrdom.
We at last have a film worthy of the Father of our country. The film follows Washington from young boyhood, under the mentorship of his half brother Lawrence Washington, to Commander of the Virginia regiment in the French and Indian War. His role in that war made him famous around the globe long […]
I can’t recall who, but someone said to aspiring attorneys during my time at the University of Illinois more than four decades ago that the most important professional thing an attorney had was a reputation for honesty. Once that was lost, it was lost for good. I would note that Johnston is a Republican elected […]
I have wondered on occasion if the Francis pontificate was perhaps a huge practical joke by God, but that strikes me as near blasphemy and to involve God in a process easily explained by human folly and hubris.
Language advisory to the above video. The only reason we don’t have national voter ID is because Democrats routinely cheat in close elections and everyone knows it.
O Lord, You have freed us from the fear of death. You have made the end of life here the beginning of a true life for us… Let not the dreadful abyss separate me from your chosen ones… You who have on earth the power to forgive sins, forgive me, so that I may draw […]
Over half a century with no Earthly justice done. Here is Ted Kennedy’s non-mea culpa, notable for how little of the details of the incident he could recall, and an example of how to appear to take responsibility while not taking responsibility. Kennedy was helped by all this occurring while the attention of the nation […]
My Bride and I and our son saw Young Washington (2026) yesterday. We all loved the film and I strongly recommend it. It is a very good movie and true to history. Full review to follow when I have time. In the meantime, here is a decent review by Ben Shapiro.
I go to the Lord as one who has not yet begun to serve Him. Said by Saint Pambo to his monks as he lay dying at age 70 after a lifetime of service to God.
Something for the weekend. Dolly Parton singing a variant of The Ballad of the Green Berets (1966). Bonus:
Contemporary education, with honorable exceptions, has little to do with education. The usual Open Thread rules apply: be concise, be charitable and, above all, be amusing!
