The Narthex
Basil & Gregory: Monastic Life
The future saints developed enduring rules for monastery living -- Part 3
By James Thunder | January 12th 2023 6:58 PMBasil either returned directly home from Athens and then toured the principal monasteries of the Eastern Roman Empire in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria or toured the monasteries before coming home (it’s unclear from my review of sources). At some point in these travels Basil’s older sister, St. Macrina, upbraided Basil…
READ FULL BLOG POSTTwo Saints Who Shared a 'Yoke'
Ss. Basil and Gregory became good friends at school in Athens -- Part 2
By James Thunder | January 6th 2023 1:12 PMIn my last post I related how Gregory spared Basil "hazing" on beginning school in Athens. The second thing Gregory did for Basil when they were students was as follows: Some of their childhood friends now at the school asked Basil questions. At first, Gregory joined in the discussion hoping…
READ FULL BLOG POSTBasil & Gregory: Early Years
Two school chums who became saints -- Part 1
By James Thunder | January 3rd 2023 5:44 PMThe Church annually celebrates the feast days of St. Basil of Caesarea and St. Gregory of Nazianzus on January 1 in the East and January 2 in the West. Their story of great affection, and estrangement, follows below. But first let me say that Pope St. John Paul II often…
READ FULL BLOG POSTCardinals, Cardinal Virtues, and Clarity
No one acts prudently who violates the commandment 'Thou shall not kill'
By James Hanink | June 1st 2022 3:05 PMThe press is repeating Bishop (and now Cardinal-elect) Robert McElroy’s charge that excluding Catholic politicians from Communion is wrongheaded. “It will bring tremendously destructive consequences” he writes, and politics is to blame. “The Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare.” McElroy also points to the…
READ FULL BLOG POST'Real Talk'
When the common person hears the word ‘synod’ or ‘synodal,’ what comes to mind?
By Barbara Rose | November 3rd 2021 6:45 PMThe first phase of the synod on synodality aims to collect input from the Church's peripheries. It's hard to imagine what kind of feedback Church leaders expect from a global-scale project like this. If bishops and cardinals want perspectives from pew-sitters and Catholics on the margins, then perhaps they should…
READ FULL BLOG POSTImagine
What if the Pope spoke to Pelosi the words about abortion that he often uses?
By James Hanink | October 14th 2021 2:28 PMPope Francis meets and greets Nancy Pelosi. So it went last week. Then followed a practiced exchange of smiles. Since the devil is no respecter of persons, he was doubtless there as well. But our angels love us far more than the devil hates us, so we can hope that…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Novel Challenge
An archbishop warns on transgender students 'unknowingly' admitted to Catholic seminaries
By Barbara Rose | September 30th 2021 5:42 PMCheck out this headline: "Transgender students 'unknowingly' admitted to Catholic seminaries, archbishop warns" (Catholic News Agency, Sept. 29). CNA reports on a recent memo sent from chairman of the USCCB’s canonical affairs committee, Milwaukee archbishop Jerome Listecki, to members of the full USCCB. A link to the full story is…
READ FULL BLOG POSTNo Jab, No Job
Does a Catholic who challenges official advice regarding vaccines really lack charity?
By Richard DellOrfano | August 16th 2021 3:21 PMEmployer mandates appear to be the next big thing in the pandemic-response saga. My 62-year-old sister, a registered nurse, had to have the jab to keep her job. She had no underlying illnesses, but within two months after getting vaxed she contracted near-death pericarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle). The…
READ FULL BLOG POSTNo Compromise
Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “Christianity shows its greatness when it is hated by the world”
By David Daintree | June 21st 2021 1:20 PMThe early Church fathers were a tough and uncompromising lot. They had to be. Sharp-tongued St. Jerome wouldn’t have done well in the diplomatic service, or even made it past the interview; he bitterly attacked heretical enemies and wasn’t always very nice to his friends. St. Ignatius of Antioch was…
READ FULL BLOG POSTOutrage and Serenity
Serenity is the hard won fruit of trust in God
By James Hanink | June 3rd 2021 2:35 PMFrom time to time, I’ve told people that outrage is the proper response to the outrageous. After all, ignoring the outrageous would be an outrage, wouldn’t? And it’s outrageous that we so often ignore the outrages of the day. Sounds plausible, or at least it did to me. But I…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA True Pastor
On Archbishop Cordileone's Pastoral Letter on the unborn, Communion & Catholic politicians
By Magdalena Moreno | May 28th 2021 4:39 PMArchbishop Cordileone’s May 1st letter, "Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You: A Pastoral Letter on the Human Dignity of the Unborn, Holy Communion, and Catholics in Public Life" (https://sfarchdiocese.org/inthewomb), is pastoral in the truest sense of the word: the archbishop is tending his flock,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTUSCCB: Too 'Conservative' for Rome
The Vatican restrains the U.S. bishops from taking too strong a stance
By Barbara Rose | May 11th 2021 3:36 PMThe Vatican has again stepped into the affairs of the USCCB in order to delay action with which Rome may not agree. Trusted Vatican watchers such as Edward Pentin and John Allen Jr over the years have portrayed Vatican officials as wary of what is seen as the American bishops'…
READ FULL BLOG POST¿Qué Serra?
Statue topplers are being charged with felony vandalism -- a first
By Magdalena Moreno | November 20th 2020 3:54 PMMonuments to St. Junípero Serra have been destroyed throughout California. His statues were toppled in Golden Gate Park (San Francisco), Capitol Park (Sacramento), and Serra Park (Los Angeles). Meanwhile, cities and school districts have rebranded buildings named after him and removed his statues from their grounds in an attempt to…
READ FULL BLOG POSTCordileone Speaks Up
Archbishop leads his people to 'Free the Mass'
By Magdalena Moreno | October 14th 2020 2:50 PMIn August San Francisco’s Department of Public Health limited the number of attendees at outdoor religious celebrations to 12 people. No indoor gatherings were permitted. This order stood in stark contrast to the city’s guidelines for indoor retail establishments, which were allowed to operate at 25% capacity, and…
READ FULL BLOG POSTSwing-Vote Catholics
Abortion is not just one issue among many
By Barbara Rose | August 21st 2020 4:10 PMDo you have friends who claim to be against abortion but vote for pro-abortion politicians because abortion is “just one issue among many”? Perhaps solid teaching from our shepherds can help convince them otherwise. John Gerard Lewis, author of Catholic Voting and Mortal Sin: How You Vote Can Endanger Your…
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