The day before a significant feast is known as a vigil or eve. Such days have historically been a time for spiritual preparation, reflection, and occasionally fasting and penance prior to the feast’s celebration. October 31 is the eve of All Saints’ Day, making it an ideal moment to prepare for the celebration of the … Read more
Gen Z is not supposed to like religious things. I disagree. My generation likes to be challenged, not coddled, in its practice of religion. One good example of this is the famous Camino de Santiago, a traditional Catholic pilgrimage with many routes that all end at the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, … Read more
“The habit doesn’t make the monk,” but it definitely helps. The soldier’s uniform, the priest’s cassock, or the schoolboy’s uniform does not make them who they are. It does, however, influence the way a person thinks and acts. It identifies him to the public. A man is made up of both body and soul, which … Read more
OTTUMWA, Iowa—The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) has just launched a petition drive asking Mayor Benjamin Foote of Ottumwa, Iowa, to cancel a Satanic invocation scheduled for November 3, which is also Election Day. The controversy began after Matthew Dalbey, a member of the Iowa chapter of The Satanic … Read more
Families have the obligation to maintain their social standing and family name at all levels in society. They have a duty of honor to themselves never to lower their standards, except when necessary to avoid sin. Therefore, families have a duty to save money, work and keep themselves at a level that befits them and … Read more
Among all the figures in the Passion of Our Lord, Simon of Cyrene stands out for his simplicity. He is neither an apostle nor a well-known disciple, but an ordinary man. This outsider from North Africa comes to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. He is taken from the crowd and unexpectedly thrust into the center … Read more
“Another petition! What’s the point?” This objection comes up often. A signature alone can’t repeal a law, force a bureaucrat to back down, stop a movie or immediately change a political decision. However, such an attitude toward a petition fails to address its true purpose. If petitions were truly useless, governments, lawmakers, the media and … Read more
Today, October 21, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of Blessed Charles I of Austria, also known as Charles Habsburg. Curiously, we celebrate his feast day on the day he got married, not on the day of his death. He unexpectedly became Emperor of Austria-Hungary, witnessed the collapse of his empire, and died in … Read more
When in need of special graces, I visit Lourdes. I go to the blessed Grotto where Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Millions of pilgrims like me gather there every year to seek out grace, favors, and peace. I have never returned unsatisfied or been “left unaided.” Thus, I have always thought … Read more
Massachusetts needed more natural gas pipeline capacity ten years ago, and it needs a lot more today. In 2015, Maura Healey helped kill the Algonquin pipeline upgrade that would have provided cheap natural gas to Massachusetts consumers. Today, the state is paying dearly for her folly. On October 1, 2026, the now-Gov. Healey wrote to … Read more
