"We don't have to consider anything she did - but what she was." Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash. The Changing of the Guard, a few days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. There are some persons – particularly among those who lament various laws that have been passed during Queen Elizabeth II's reign …
Continue reading Why we are mourning Queen Elizabeth II’s death
"Try telling a paralysed man to get up and walk, but without having any of Christ’s power to make it happen." Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash Introduction In the last piece on this topic, I explained how St Thomas treats mirth, playfulness and affability as virtues – and that, despite some people acting …
Continue reading It’s not a sin to be depressed: Here’s what Aquinas and Neri have to say
A summary for helping elderly converts understand what must be believed Image: David Gilbert Wright On 24 August 2022, my grandmother finished her time on earth. In 2020, in her mid-nineties, she was received into the Roman Catholic Church. Given her age and other factors, a typical period of instruction was not possible. It was …
Continue reading How can we explain the Catholic faith simply?
"Who are those who are not to be accounted members of the Church?" Image: Pius XII saying Mass. Wiki Commons CC 2.0 Case Study This is the second part of a review of the ongoing Tradivox Catholic Catechism Index project. In the first part (the review itself), I discussed how we can use the authority …
"If they deviated so much as a step, in metaphysics especially, from Aquinas, they exposed themselves to grave risk." Image: Pope St Pius X, Wiki Commons. In his classic encyclical against modernism, Pascendi Dominici Gregis, St Pius X wrote: “We will and ordain that scholastic philosophy be made the basis of the sacred sciences.”[1] But …
Continue reading What is Thomism? The Twenty-Four Thomistic Theses
"A singular force and power to cure the evils which afflict our age." St Thomas Aquinas and the ChurchPart II: His Extrinsic Authority See here for Part I: St Thomas and the Church - His Intrinsic Authority In this essay... - The nature of extrinsic authority - The adoption of St Thomas by the Church …
Continue reading St Thomas Aquinas and the Church – His Extrinsic Authority
There is no virtue in being humourless, dour or rude. In fact, these things are vices - at least in those who are not, for example, depressed. This may seem very obvious. But having just completed a novena to St Philip Neri, who was well known for his tenderness of heart and cheerfulness, it will …
“When someone parts company with Thomas, he seems to be parting company with the Church.” - Pope St Pius X St Thomas Aquinas and the ChurchPart I: His Intrinsic Authority See here for Part II: St Thomas and the Church - His Extrinsic Authority In this essay... - St Thomas Aquinas as “The Common Doctor” …
Continue reading St Thomas Aquinas and the Church – His Intrinsic Authority
"Take this glorious Saint for your master, and you will not wander out of the way.” In honour of St Joseph, we are publishing this exclusive translation of a sermon by Fr José María Bover SJ in two parts. This first part was published in advance of the feast of St Joseph the Worker (1 …
Continue reading Devotion to St Joseph, Part II: Logical Consequences – Fr Bover SJ
"Great evils must be met with great remedies." "The great remedies for the evils that weigh upon the earth are to be sought in heaven. The great remedies for the immense evils that afflict us (and for the greater evils that threaten us) are these: devotion to the Heart of Jesus Christ; to the Immaculate …
Continue reading Devotion to St Joseph, Part I: Theological Reasons – Fr Bover SJ