Solidarity Forever: An Idea and its Roots in Catholic Social Thought

From the Lumen Christi Institute

Thomas Kohler, Professor of Law at Boston College Law School, delivers a lecture titled "Solidarity Forever: An Idea and its Roots in Catholic Social Thought" on January 26, 2012 at the University of Chicago.

The Holy Rosary

Saturday, the Glorious Mysteries, in Latin with Cardinal Burke.

The Life of His Majesty The King George III of Great Britain ~ (1738–1820)

From The Romanian Monarchist

• George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with George as its king. He was concurrently Duke and Prince-elector of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire before becoming King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was a monarch of the House of Hanover, who, unlike his two predecessors, was born in Great Britain, spoke English as his first language, and never visited Hanover.

George was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather, King George II, as the first son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Following his father's death in 1751, Prince George became heir apparent and Prince of Wales. He succeeded to the throne on George II's death in 1760. The following year, he married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with whom he had 15 children. George III's life and reign were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, Britain lost 13 of its North American colonies in the American War of Independence. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In 1807, the transatlantic slave trade was banned from the British Empire.

At the time of his death, he was the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch, having reigned for 59 years and 96 days; he still remains the longest-reigning male monarch in British history.

Metaphysics: 4. The Scandal of Generality

With Ralph McInerny (R+I+P), PhD, late Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Jacques Maritain Centre, & Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies, Notre Dame.

Many Early Christians Became Vegetarians During Lent

Even today, the East forbids dairy, fish, meat, and oil during the Great Fast, which means that people are vegetarians if they keep the rules.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

Before any official rules were set, Christians would create their own fasts to observe during Lent. 

Currently, the Roman Catholic Church has only two days during Lent when Catholics are obliged to fast (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), and Fridays are traditionally days of abstinence from meat.

These rules have been pared down over the centuries, as abstinence from meat was at one time observed throughout the entirety of Lent.

Fish has always been an accepted alternative, but in the first few centuries of Christianity, even that food group was given up.

Early Christians had a variety of fasts

Initially there were no set rules for fasting during Lent practiced by all Catholics throughout the whole world. It was up to local bishops and priests to advise the faithful on what they should do during the penitential season.

For example, the Catholic Encyclopedia explains, "the historian Socrates tells of the practice of the 5th century: "Some abstain from every sort of creature that has life, while others of all the living creatures eat of fish only. Others eat birds as well as fish, because, according to the Mosaic account of the Creation, they too sprang from the water; others abstain from fruit covered by a hard shell and from eggs."

This means some early Christians were vegetarians throughout Lent, while other allowed themselves fish and others added birds to the menu.

Many of Christians even went further than the above rules, "Some eat dry bread only, others not even that; others again when they have fasted to the ninth hour (three o'clock) partake of various kinds of food."

Generally speaking many Christians would, "take but one meal a day and that only in the evening, while meat and, in the early centuries, wine were entirely forbidden."

Only much later did bishops and popes begin to direct the faithful with explicit laws for fasting and abstinence.

The key behind all of this is that Christians were eager and zealous to perform many penances for Jesus, their Bridegroom. They wanted to unite themselves to his suffering and to offer the privation they experienced as a sacrifice to God.

While the Church does not have many fasting rules for the 40 days of Lent, individual Christians can work with their spiritual directors and physicians to determine what kind of fasts are possible that do not harm a person's body.

Pope Leo Has Started The Canonization Process Of a Monster

Before the Internet: How Fast Did News Travel in Medieval Times?

From MedievalMadness

When we think about social media today, it conjures up images of Facebook, Twitter, the internet and smartphones. But the primary urges that make us want to share news, both good and bad, build friendships and, of course, indulge in a lovely bit of gossip are not modern inventions.

The Europe of the Middle Ages had its own complicated social networks. The Medievals may not have had Wi-Fi or the World Wide Web, but they certainly didn’t go short on information. Let’s travel back to the Middle Ages and take a look at how the Medievals communicated without modern technology. 0:00 Introduction 0:56 Like & Share 03:53 Going Viral 06:12 Networking 07:50 Profile Picture 10:09 Media Moguls

Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | February

Traditional Catholic morning prayers -- an excellent way to start your day off strong! The month of February is devoted to the Holy Family -- Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph. It is my hope that these prayers increase your devotion to Our Lord and His Holy Family. Begin each day with morning prayer! This video is a compilation of many traditional morning prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office morning prayers.

This Jewish Tomb Proves Catholics Right About Mary

From Totus Catholica

Ask ANY Historian This About Rachel's Tomb... Proves Mary's Intercession Protestants say asking the dead to pray is necromancy. But Jeremiah 31 portrays Rachel - dead for centuries - interceding before God, and God responds with promises of restoration. Either Jeremiah taught idolatry, or something's wrong with the objection. 📌 The Point: Rachel's tomb is a 3,000-year-old witness that asking the righteous dead to intercede is biblical, not pagan. Jeremiah records it. Matthew applies it directly to Mary. The early Church recognised it immediately. 📖 Core Sources Rachel's Tomb - The Jewish Foundation: Rachel died near Bethlehem, giving birth to Benjamin; Jacob buried her by the roadside rather than in the family tomb at Hebron Jewish tradition (Midrash & Rashi): God revealed to Jacob that centuries later, when his descendants were dragged into Babylonian exile, they would pass this very spot - Rachel would be there to weep for them and intercede Jeremiah 31:15-17 - During the Babylonian exile: "A voice is heard in Rama, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children... Thus says the Lord: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears. For there is a reward for your work... and your children shall come back to their own country" Rachel had been dead for centuries, yet she is portrayed weeping and interceding - and God responds to her intercession with a promise Matthew's Theological Identification: Matthew 2:17,18 - After Herod's massacre of infant boys in Bethlehem, Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31 directly, applying it to Mary This is deliberate typology - theological identification, not random poetry Rachel-Mary Mother of Joseph-Mother of Jesus (new Joseph) Gave birth near Bethlehem in suffering-Gave birth in Bethlehem Buried by the roadside to intercede in crisis-Stands at the cross, given to us as mother Weeps for exiled children-Weeps as innocent children are slaughtered Revelation 12 - Woman clothed with the sun, crying out in birth pangs, combining imagery of the Queen, Mother Rachel, and the Church ⛪ Catholic Teaching CCC 956 - "Those who dwell in heaven do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, proffering the merits they acquired on earth through the one mediator, Christ Jesus" Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 60, 62 - Mary's maternal role in the order of grace "began with her consent at the Annunciation and continues without interruption until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect"; her maternal intercession "in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power" St. Irenaeus (2nd century) - "The Virgin Mary became the advocate of the Virgin Eve" - early Christians immediately connected Mary's obedience to a maternal intercessory role 🛡️ Objections Answered "1 Timothy 2:5: There is one mediator, Christ Jesus"? Paul immediately calls himself a teacher and preacher (subordinate mediator of truth); just before declaring Christ the one mediator, Paul commands Christians to "make intercessions for all people" - if asking others to intercede contradicted Christ's mediation, Paul would not command it in the same breath "Deuteronomy 18 forbids consulting the dead - isn't this necromancy"? Deuteronomy 18 forbids occult rituals to gain secret knowledge or power from the dead. Asking the saints to pray is not summoning spirits - it is asking those alive in God's presence to join their prayers with ours. Jesus Himself taught "God is not God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him" (Luke 20:38) Council of Trent (Session 25) - Affirmed the legitimacy of invoking saints while commanding the removal of superstition and abuse; guards against distortion, not the practice itself 📺 Chapters 0:00 - Rachel's Tomb: The 3,000-Year Witness to Intercession 2:17 - Jeremiah 31:15-17: Dead Rachel Intercedes, God Responds 4:22 - Matthew 2:17,18: Mary Stands in Rachel's Intercessory Role 5:41 - Vatican II & CCC 956: Heaven Intercedes Without Ceasing 6:39 - Objections: One Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), Necromancy (Deut 18) 7:47 - Conclusion: Communion of Saints - Heaven and Earth Pray Together 🌐 Connect 📿 https://totuscatholica.org/rosary 🌍 https://totuscatholica.org/ ✉️ https://totuscatholica.org/contact 🔍 https://catholicexaminationofconscien...

Saint Robert Southwell, the Martyr Who Brought Beauty to England

Today is the Feast of St Robert Southwell, possibly a cousin of William Shakespeare, a poet to rival the Bard and a Martyr for the Catholic Faith.

From Aleteia

By Meg Hunter-Kilmer

The poet priest knew that for Church to survive, she needed not only Sacraments but an intellectual life and a culture.

There’s a delightful sense of satisfaction that comes of shattering a useless stereotype. When faced with someone who’s certain that Christians are weak, milquetoast types, I delight in referencing St. Gabriel Possenti, who drove an army out of town using the guns he stole from their holsters. Aquinas and Albert and Augustine obliterate the modern claim that Christians must all be intellectual lightweights. Really, I don’t think there’s a single saint who fits nicely in any box the world would like to fashion. But St. Robert Southwell, a poet, a priest, and a martyr, defies expectations on every front.

Robert Southwell was born in 1561 in Protestant England. Though his family was Catholic, their fortune came from a monastery seized by Henry VIII, and Robert’s father and grandfather both wavered between Catholicism and Protestantism. Still, Robert was sent to Europe for a Catholic education when he was 15 and not long after petitioned the Jesuits to accept him. When he was denied, the gentle and artistic Southwell walked to Rome to ask more forcefully. His determination paid off and his request was approved.

Ordained at 23, Southwell asked his superiors to send him to England, a country already running red with the blood of priests. In the footsteps of St. Edmund Campion, he set off for England as his superior shook his head, murmuring, “Lambs sent to the slaughter.”

For the next three years, Southwell moved from house to house reconciling sinners and celebrating Mass. He was then installed at the home of St. Philip Howard, in prison for his faith and later to be martyred. Fr. Southwell became the chaplain to Howard’s wife, the countess of Arundel, while frequently leaving the relative safety of her house to bring Christ all over England.

Like every hidden priest in England, Southwell knew that his primary duty was to offer the Sacraments to the faithful. But he had a particular gift that the Church needed desperately. The purpose of the priests in England wasn’t just to minister to the souls who were still there but to maintain a Catholic Church in England. The hope was that one day the persecutions would subside and the Catholic Church could emerge as something authentically English, not something foreign introduced from without. In order for the Church to survive, she needed not only Sacraments but an intellectual life and a culture. These Southwell could give. Set up with a printing press, the man some believe was a cousin of William Shakespeare began to write and to publish both poetry and prose. His work flew to the farthest reaches of the kingdom, giving hope and joy to recusant Catholics (those who had refused to abandon their faith) who’d been approaching despair.

We moderns have forgotten the power of art, the power of literature. We settle for trite films and banal novels, not realizing that a people starved for beauty will truly starve. Southwell understood this, and in his poetic genius (a genius still recognized by secular scholars today) he sustained his people.

But he was a priest before he was a poet and Southwell spent the six years of his ministry in England celebrating Sacraments, traveling under cover of darkness, and hiding beneath floorboards as did the others. Finally he was betrayed and brought before the sadistic Richard Topcliffe to be broken.

His whole life, Southwell had been a remarkably handsome man, described as almost feminine in his beauty. Faced with a delicately beautiful poet, his captors were not expecting to find steel beneath his soft exterior. But Topcliffe, Elizabeth’s expert torturer, tormented him at least 13 times and each time was met only with the information that he was a Jesuit priest who had come to England to preach the Catholic faith and was willing to die for it. Southwell then spent two and a half years in solitary confinement in the Tower of London, after which he was finally given a trial of sorts and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

St. Robert Southwell was a sensitive man of strength, a Christian genius, a poet whose art strengthened the failing. But with all the gifts nature could offer, he longed for only one thing: Christ and him crucified. He yearned to be martyred, to pour out his blood for the glory of God, and his request was granted. In death he gained not only the crown of martyrdom but also an enduring legacy as the poet who reminded English Catholics of their heritage and strengthened them to endure. On his feast day, February 21, let’s ask his intercession for an authentic masculinity among Christians, one that values beauty, wisdom, and sensitivity as well as courage and strength. St. Robert Southwell, pray for us.