Catholicism, Tradition and Protestantism

One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Father of us all” — Eph. 4: 4-6 Every ecclesial community brings its tradition(s) to bear in the exegesis and understanding of Scripture. Even independent Protestant Fundamentalist pastors and larger Protestant denominations(1) employ their traditions [i.e., their received community understanding of texts] as a… Read More Catholicism, Tradition and Protestantism

The Predestination of Mary by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange

Excerpt from The Mother of the Savior and Our Interior Life. [+ See also, Our Blessed Mother Mary in the Order of Grace. “Fundamentalist Protestant incomprehension of the Catholic doctrine regarding Mary, the Theotokos or Mother of God, is largely and essentially an incomprehension of the Incarnation itself, whereby the Word, who is God, was made… Read More The Predestination of Mary by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange

The Marian Life

Another aspect of the Marian life is the imitation of Mary. Jesus alone is the “Way” that leads to the Father, He is the only model; but who is more like Jesus than Mary? Of whom more than of Mary can it be said that she has the same thoughts as Christ? “O Lady,” exclaims… Read More The Marian Life

Mary the Mother of May

In his 1987 encyclical letter, Redemptoris Mater, Pope Saint John Paul II writes, “Thanks to his special bond, linking the Mother of Christ with the Church, there is further clarified the mystery of that “woman” who from the first chapters of Genesis until the Book of Revelation, accompanies the revelation of God’s salvific plan for humanity.  For Mary,… Read More Mary the Mother of May

Christmas in Harvard Square and Roxbury

The Rosary of the Sick, linked here, was recorded at this Shrine. My wife, Diane, and I made a short pilgrimage to the Shrine for Christmas Mass, staying over nearby in Harvard Square. Mary the Finder of Grace. “The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help informally known as The Mission Church is a Roman Catholic basilica in the Mission Hill neighborhood… Read More Christmas in Harvard Square and Roxbury

Mary’s Faith

Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene writes, “The Blessed Virgin teaches us to believe in our vocation to sanctity, to divine intimacy. We did believe in it when God revealed it to us in the brightness of interior light, and the words of His minister confirmed it; but we should also believe in it when… Read More Mary’s Faith

Our Blessed Mother, Mary, in the Order of Grace

Fundamentalist Protestant incomprehension of the Catholic doctrine regarding Mary as the Mother of God is largely and essentially an incomprehension of the Incarnation itself, whereby the Word, who is God, was made flesh (John 1:1; 14). It is rooted in a failure to contemplate, with the Catholic Church, the stupendous implications of this wondrous mystery.… Read More Our Blessed Mother, Mary, in the Order of Grace

Could Walsingham point the way to a post-Francis liturgical renewal?

… Being careful to provide and protect the hermeneutic of continuity of Pope Benedict XVI. “Built in the mid-14th century, and dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, this chapel served pilgrims on their way to England’s Nazareth. Saint Catherine was the patron saint of pilgrims to the Holy Land and her knights kept open the… Read More Could Walsingham point the way to a post-Francis liturgical renewal?