The story is told of a man who fell into a cave filled with Pit Vipers, and, upon clawing his way up the rocks and out, left his pantheism behind. “Pit vipers are dangerous because they are venomous snakes that can deliver a harmful bite, potentially causing severe pain, swelling, and other serious symptoms. Prompt… Read More Pit Vipers
…who kindly blesses each one of us with the Sign of the Cross + from the sidewalk when we come out of Church. Or when we pass on the street. O blessed Sign! Once when I needed to Confess my sins only to find it was one of those rare days when the church was… Read More I know a priest
“Under President Trump, the United States will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration… And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference, and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio as… Read More Secretary Mark Rubio in Munich
Me to ChatGpt: “Good morning. And I hope your buzzers, widgets and bells are greased and working fine today. Q: Did Beethoven have a concept or themes in mind when he composed his 5th Symphony?” Good morning! All symphonic gears are well-oiled and humming in C minor today. Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 5… Read More With ChatGpt Re: Beethoven and the Fifth
💙✨ ✨💙 🙏 Did you know that in a humble grotto the Virgin Mary offered comfort and healing to millions of hearts? Our Lady of Lourdes appeared in 1858 to Saint Bernadette Soubirous, a simple young girl, in the grotto of Lourdes. Since then, this place has become a living sign of hope for the… Read More Our Lady of Lourdes: The Apparition That Brought Hope to the Sick
And a response. It Ain’t Broke, But Let’s Fix It Anyhow June 2004 We picked up a Catholic magazine, and on the cover was one big headline, and it was a striking one: “Was Vatican II a Mistake?” In the background to the headline were a litany of post-Vatican II disasters: “practicing homosexuals in the… Read More The New Oxford Review Debate on Whether Vatican II Was Necessary
In light of our personal failings, some of us may not be sure if we have earnestly “worked out our salvation with fear and trembling,” or whether we are more worthy of spiritual chastisements. But in our deepest selves we can know whose side we are on vis a vis the arrogant values of this world.… Read More He Dared to Combine Hope and Misery
The events of 1968 had a strong bearing on his shift to a more conservative outlook. Excerpted from “POPE BENEDICT XVI: A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger.” (c) 2000 by John L. Allen, Jr.The Continuum. Joseph Ratzinger arrived at Tübingen [University] in 1966, still enthusiastic about the promise of Vatican II and ready to take his… Read More How the ’60s Changed Ratzinger
Best friends & much more forever 51 years and counting in 2025-26 Kahlil Gibran “You were born [again]] together, and together you shall be forevermore… But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.” ‘For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health… Read More In Sickness and in Health, For Better or for Worse, for Richer or for poorer…till death do we part.
The common Christian belief is that Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, came to Ephesus with St. John after the Crucifixion of Christ and the two lived the rest of their lives near the city. Explore “the mysteries, legends, and historical clues about the final moments of Jesus’s mother. Tour sacred sites, discover archaeological finds, and explore centuries-old… Read More Inside Mary’s House in Ephesus
“Modernism and its Enemies” by Hilton Kramer discusses the ongoing debate surrounding modernism in the arts, highlighting the criticisms it faces from various cultural and political perspectives. Kramer argues that modernism is under attack from those who believe that the concept of individualism and personal identity, central to modernist art, is no longer relevant in… Read More Modernism and its enemies. The New Criterion, 1986.
Cultural values matter. The Beatles are going through a kind of renaissance today, largely thanks to Peter Jackson, Disney and YouTube. The irony is that some of their music is so exciting and inviting we often forget to listen to the messages in the melodies and ponder the global cultural impact. Who cares?, even many Christians… Read More John Lennon’s ‘Wet Dream’
~~ By Peter Kreeft. There is a dimension of truth which most of us have tragically lost and need to recover, a dimension that cannot be put into words and sentences, though words and sentences can be used to suggest it. All premodern societies had this other dimension, even the ones who were very far… Read More Love Sees With New Eyes
“The Saint is a medicine because he is an antidote. Indeed that is why the saint is often a martyr; he is mistaken for a poison because he is an antidote. He will generally be found restoring the world to sanity by exaggerating whatever the world neglects, which is by no means always the same… Read More Saints of Flesh and Blood
Like children wandering towards a circus, in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, it is stated that God will send a strong delusion so that people may believe what is false, particularly as a consequence for not loving the truth. This delusion serves as a judgment for those who have rejected the truth and embraced unrighteousness. 2 Thess… Read More “Therefore God sends upon them strong delusion”
Inside the Vatican excerpt. By Dr. Ralph Weimann: “Harvesting organs: “Bioethics is in a disastrous situation” “…Due to technological progress, Pope Pius XII († 1958) invited scientists to provide medical criteria defining death, whilst upholding the theological definition of death as separation between body and soul. However, ten years after his death, a revolution occurred when the… Read More Death, Harvesting Organs and a Coherent Concept of Man
CT – “Brittany is deeply interesting: She cares about art, ideas, and people. Yet when we went out socially, most people failed to see her as particularly interesting. Once she left the workforce, in group settings, people tended to ignore her to talk to me about my work and interests. I (apparently!) was the interesting and insightful… Read More Human Worth In the Attention Economy
“Ever wanted to sound unbearably pretentious at dinner parties? Wondered how one French philosopher managed to make an entire career out of writing sentences no human being could understand? Curious why your literature professor keeps muttering about “the death of the author” while staring vacantly into space? Look no further than “Derrida’s Deconstruction: Tearing Texts Apart… Read More Derrida’s Deconstructionism. Cogito Ergo Nope.
By James J. Thompson Jr. | New Oxford Review. | Does God answer prayer? Christians respond to such a query with a mixture of bewilderment and irritation. Who but unbelievers and those of little faith would even think to pose the question? One need only turn to the Gospel of St. Luke to find Christ’s unequivocal… Read More Jacques Ellul’s ‘Prayer and Modern Man’
Pianist and conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn reflects on growing up in exile as the son of Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, moving from Soviet persecution to a quiet childhood in rural Vermont. Ignat recounts how music, faith, and Russian culture sustained his family far from home, how cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich helped set him on a… Read More Ignat Solzhenitsyn in Conversation with Peter Robinson
ACI Prensa. EWTN. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher spoke at the event “A Common Front for Human Dignity: Preventing the Commodification of Women and Children in Surrogacy.” And 2026: Year of Saint Francis. By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations of the Holy See, described the practice of… Read More Archbishop Gallagher: Surrogacy is a ‘new form of colonialism’
Not that I can ever fully trust Google or Facebook, but I asked A.I Gemini (Google) for an objective evaluation of CatholicCritique.com. First, in another session elsewhere, Search Assist AI quotes Julian Assange saying of another venue, “Facebook is the “most appalling spying machine” ever invented, suggesting that it allows U.S. intelligence agencies to gather personal… Read More Gemini / Google Evaluation of Catholic Critique
One man wrote …, I wanted to encourage him since I too know the struggles of coming to the piano late in life. I wrote, “Keep going, sir. Look up Phillip Springer (shown here below) still playing at 94, all bent and gnarled. Nothing keeps down the human spirit that wants to soar 🚀 Beethoven,… Read More The Fab Three — and The Student.
Foreword to Dietrich von Hildebrand’s book by Manfred Honeck (and see a conversation with Manfred Honeck on great composers below). He writes, “THIS LITTLE BOOK IS A TREASURE, not only because it discusses three of the greatest composers, but also because the author is willing actually to engage with their music. It does not claim… Read More Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert
Music is universal. When the message is not truly bad it is good enough, and cheers the human heart in recreation. John Paul II reminded us that whatever is truly and universally human participates in the essential goodness of Creation. Only we can wreck that! (Phil. 4:8) If all music had to be overtly religious… Read More Play skilfully
“First off, I want the US to acquire Greenland — fairly and legally. But this is extortion against America’s allies. It cannot be the case that this or any American president has the power to do this. It’s obscene. He’s not … Caesar!”
Q: Why is there no black note between B and C or between E and F? Well, this is a simple sounding question with a not very simple answer. You’ll need to be sitting up in your seat for this one! Too, from musicstackexchange.com Why do B and C and E and F not have a sharp note between them? Simply because, acoustically speaking, there… Read More Music Theory and The Monks 🎹
By now we’ve all long heard Cohen’s honest testimonial to the faltering universal holy quest. “I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the lordBut you don’t really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor fall, now the major liftThe baffled king composing… Read More Who Hasn’t Known the Broken Chord?
Today, I feel like being a lot bolder and more blunt in this blog. There’s this thing that’s been bothering me for years, so here it goes. I hope I don’t get judged for being vulnerable and extremely open on this, but let’s be real—we’ve all had those “what was I thinking?” years … Neither… Read More The Truth, The Mess, and The DNA Test.
Francis Albert Sinatra (/sɪˈnɑːtrə/; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes“, he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century.[1] 🎶 Watch here 🎶 Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era. He… Read More Sinatra in the studio
“With the proliferation of systems, methods, concepts and philosophical theses which are often extremely complex, the need for a critical discernment in the light of faith becomes more urgent, even if it remains a daunting task. Given all of reason’s inherent and historical limitations, it is difficult enough to recognize the inalienable powers proper to… Read More The Church and Philosophical Discernment.
“George Harrison played a crucial role in the production of “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” (1979) by financing the film after EMI Films withdrew their support just before filming began. He mortgaged his home to provide the necessary funds, stating he wanted to see the movie made, which has been described as the “world’s most… Read More George Harrison and The Life of Brian
by Thomas Storck. What is needed is a real debate on religious questions providing a rational public apologetic for the faith. “For we were not following fictitious tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his grandeur.” – 2 Peter 1:16 The… Read More The Catholic Faith Is Not a Noble Lie
The late philosopher, William Barrett, in his famous book on Existentialism entitled Irrational Man, writes of faith and reason, “THOUGH strongly colored by Greek and Neo-Platonic influences, Christianity belongs to the Hebraist rather than to the Hellenist side of man’s nature because Christianity bases itself above all on faith and sets the man of faith… Read More Whose Wisdom? Whose Reason?
Full length presentation below the powerful first, brief, video. “A fascinating new look at the biblical, historical, and scientific evidence for Creation and the Flood. Learn from more than a dozen scientists and scholars as they explore the world around us in light of Genesis. St. Alphonsus Liguori: “It is a certain rule, received in… Read More Is Genesis History?
—- Or, Why My Favorite Moggs Reads The Sun Religiously. Prince Harry is reportedly planning to extend an olive branch to King Charles by inviting him to open the Invictus Games in the UK in 2027, which some say could help mend their long-standing rift. . Page Six The US Sun. But that’s just the half of… Read More Moggs’ WiseHead Revisited.
The Telegraph, UK. Rory Stewart is wrong about everything, but he gets away with it because he is posh. Fans of The Rest is Politics believe the social status of a political opinion matters more than its accordance with reality. The former Conservative minister’s career is a reminder there is no limit to how wrong you… Read More Rory Stewart is wrong about everything, but he gets away with it because he is posh
“Under Nicolás Maduro’s administration thousands of people died in extrajudicial killings and seven million Venezuelans were forced to flee the country due to economic collapse.” —Wikipedia. “Venezuela has been a significant transit hub for drug trafficking, particularly cocaine, due to its proximity to Colombia, which is the primary source of cocaine. The Venezuelan government, under Nicolás Maduro, has been… Read More Nice Smile
With Ross Douthat, NYT. What should the U.S. do next in Venezuela? President Trump’s former Venezuela envoy Elliott Abrams wants the Trump administration to push harder for full regime change. But, he and Ross debate if a democratic transition is even possible based on the administration’s interests and past American efforts in the region.
Sec. of State Rubio takes aim at UN. US president says a military operation in Colombia ‘sounds good’ to him and warns Mexico ‘to get their act together’. The United States President Donald Trump has threatened military action against his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, following Washington’s abduction of Venezuela’s leader, and said he believed the government… Read More Trump threatens Colombia’s Petro, says Cuba looks ‘ready to fall’
