"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 …
"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 …
"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 …
Continue reading CLASSIC BOOK REVIEW: The Life of the Fathers, by St Gregory of Tours
"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 …
Continue reading Portrait of a Pope: St Gregory the Great and the End of Imperial Rome
Sometimes it can feel like Heaven uses dates in a providential way. 13th May 1917 was the date of the first apparition at Fatima, in which Our Lady brought a vital message to a suffering world. But on the same day, Eugenio Pacelli, later Pius XII, was made a bishop by Benedict XV. But there …
Continue reading Why St Robert Bellarmine was declared a Doctor of the Church – Pius XI
"A consolatory thought for those who see their span of life crumbling away under their feet - and they, apparently, doing nothing." Editor's Note: St Basil and St Gregory had a lifelong friendship, which nonetheless included tension towards the end of St Basil’s life. In 379, after St Basil died (and on his recommendation), Gregory …
Continue reading St Gregory Nazianzen and the Crisis in the Church
St Pius V was born Antonio Ghisleri, and when he entered the Dominicans, he took the name Michele – Michael – which he used in preference to his baptismal name thereafter. There are many aspects of the life of this very great saint which might catch the interest of pious Catholics. His youth spent tending …
Continue reading Pope St Pius V – “Crushing of the Enemies of thy Church”
"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
"The Lord knows that we have undertaken a just war for the safety of our nation." In June 2019 I walked 84-miles across England following the route of Hadrian’s Wall; these are my reflections on one of the important historical sites, encountered along the route. This is an edited version of an article first published …
Continue reading Hadrian’s Wall, St Oswald and the Forgotten Triumph of Heavenfield