There is a temptation in the Roman Rite toward a rigidity of posture that mimics the manner of soldiers on the march. Perhaps the sobrietas of our worship can be misunderstood, leading some to mistake rigidity for reverence. Or perhaps rigidity and restrictive motion are embraced as the necessary antidote to, or even reparation for, […]

A new Motu Proprio reversing Traditiones Custodes would only serve to deepen the liturgical crisis.

Christ insisted that the blessed would eventually “be like the angels” (Mark 12:25). The Church has always taught that the angels who have attained blessedness cannot fall and start the whole cycle over again (ad infinitum, even). Conversely the devil and demons, according to Church teaching, cannot repent, because “it is the irrevocable character of […]

The title bears the argument made by most evangelical Protestants; namely, that the sacraments, not to mention the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, are unnecessary unto salvation. The thief, so we’re told, can literally “do nothing” since his hands and feet are nailed down. His mere acknowledgement of Jesus’ kingship wins him a trip […]

Apologetic debates between Catholics and Protestants typically revolve around two questions: (a.) what was the original content of the apostolic deposit, and (b.) who is more faithful to it? Those debates usually cycle through proof texts and come to no substantive conclusion for a host of reasons. However, if we consider the concept of a […]