Firm roots will survive the storms
Author archives: M. J. McCusker
The Greatest City on Earth: Theodoric in Constantinople 461-71
“It is not fitting that the Emperor should be bound to do the bidding of any of his subjects, especially when by his compliance he injures the state!” Image: The Theodosian Walls at Constantinople, Wiki Commons CC (Source) Theodoric in Constantinople In the previous instalment of this series, we saw that Theodoric the Amal, at the age …
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Barbarian and Roman: The Early Life of Theodoric the Great
“The western half of the empire had been found wanting in the day of its trial, the eastern half had weathered the storm”
We ended the last instalment of this series where this one begins, with the birth of the boy who would become known to history as Theodoric the Great.
CLASSIC BOOK REVIEW: The Life of the Fathers, by St Gregory of Tours
“The Heavenly Power provides a unique and manifold gift when it gives us not only intercessors for our sins but also teachers of eternal life.” Image: St Gregory and King Chilperic, Grandes Chronique de France de Charles V, (Wiki Commons, source) Introduction While doing research for The WM Review’s ongoing series on St Gregory the …
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Bishop Ullathorne’s vindication of Newman’s writings on Our Lady
“He brought from Rome what he found in Rome”
The WM Review is pleased to publish a fascinating letter written by Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne, in defence of John Henry Newman’s writings on the Blessed Virgin Mary in his 1866 work Letter to Pusey. Ullathorne was the Bishop of Birmingham, the diocese in which Newman lived and ministered.
The Life of St Caluppa
“Poverty in this world always opens up the kingdom of heaven” Image: The Basilica at Clermont-Ferrand (Source: Wiki Commons CC) Introduction Sixth century Gaul was a brutal place. Over the course of the fifth century, Roman imperial authority had collapsed, and new kingdoms had been carved out by migrating Germanic peoples. The Romano-Gallic population was …
The Life of St Friardus
“God’s help was sought continuously not only by the martyrs, but also by those known to have led holy lives.” Image: St Friard, Thomas de Leu, (source) Introduction The early centuries of the Church were the age of the martyrs. The first saints held up for veneration by the Church were those who had died …
One year of The WM Review – thank you for supporting us!
Today is the first anniversary of the launch of The WM Review! THANK YOU to all our readers, especially those who have made donations, given us helpful feedback, or shared our work with others over the past year. We weren’t expecting to find such support and to begin so many new friendships! We’d like to share …
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Portrait of a Pope: The Reign of Odovacer in Italy
“For the great mass of the inhabitants of Italy, the old order of things remained unchanged.” Image: The Consummation, Thomas Cole, (Wiki Commons CC). The city of Rome was still prosperous in the fifth century. In the previous part of this series on St Gregory the Great we looked briefly at the events leading up …
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Portrait of a Pope: St Gregory the Great and the End of Imperial Rome
“Where is the Senate? Where the People? The very buildings we behold crumbling around us.” Image: The Favourites of Honorius, John William Waterhouse, (source). The city of Rome was still flourishing in the fourth century. In the autumn of AD 590, as a Lombard army marched on Rome and as the city tried to recover …
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