Eastern Rite ~ Feasts of 3 September AM 7534

Today is the Feasts of the Holy Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia and of Our Venerable Father Theoctistus, Fellow Ascetic of the Great Euthymius.

✠✠✠✠✠

The Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and those with him suffered during the persecution against Christians under the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). The persecution became particularly intense after a fire at the imperial court at Nicomedia. The pagans accused the Christians of setting the fire and reacted against them with terrible ferocity.

In Nicomedia alone, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, as many as twenty thousand Christians were burned inside a church. However, this monstrous inhumanity did not frighten the Christians, who firmly confessed their faith and endured martyrdom for Christ.

Saints Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius, Peter, Indes and Gorgonius died during this period. One of them was beheaded by the sword, others perished by burning, or being buried alive, or by drowning in the sea. The soldier Zeno boldly denounced the emperor Maximian, for which he was stoned, and then beheaded.

Then the holy Virgin Martyr Domna, a former pagan priestess, perished at the hands of the pagans, and also Saint Euthymius, because of their concern that the bodies of the holy martyrs should be buried. Bishop Anthimus, who headed the Church of Nicomedia, hid himself in a village not far from Nicomedia at the request of his flock. From there he sent letters to the Christians, urging them to cleave firmly to the holy Faith and not to fear torture.

One of his letters, sent with Deacon Theophilus, was intercepted and given to the emperor Maximian. Theophilus was interrogated and died under torture, without revealing to his torturers the whereabouts of Bishop Anthimus. After a while, Maximian managed to learn where Saint Anthimus was and sent a detachment of soldiers after him.

The bishop met them along the way, but the soldiers did not recognize the saint. He invited them to join him and provided a meal, after which he revealed that he was the one they sought. The soldiers did not know what to do. They wanted to leave him and tell the emperor that they had not found him. Bishop Anthimus was not one to tolerate a lie, and so he would not consent to this.

The soldiers came to believe in Christ and received holy Baptism. The saint ordered them to carry out the emperor’s instructions. When Bishop Anthimus was brought before the emperor, the emperor ordered that the instruments of execution be brought out and placed before him. “Do you think, emperor, to frighten me with these tools of execution?” asked the saint. “No indeed, you cannot frighten one who wishes to die for Christ! Execution is frightening only for the cowardly, for whom the present life is most precious.” The emperor then directed that the saint be fiercely tortured and beheaded by the sword.

Bishop Anthimus joyfully glorified God with his last breath and received the crown of martyrdom. (See December 28 for another account of the Nicomedian martyrs.)

Troparion — Tone 1

You protected your flock with your blood, / not fearing your adversaries. / Now you rejoice in heaven standing before the throne. / Glory to Christ who has strengthened you; / glory to your courage; / glory to your endurance, O holy Hieromartyr Anthimus!

Troparion — Tone 4

Your holy martyrs O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 4

Illustrious priest and steadfast martyr, / Anthimus, worthy of praise: / You assailed the worship of idols, / and championed your flock which fervently cries to you: / By your prayers deliver us from dangers!

Kontakion — Tone 4

Living honourably as a priest, / you completed the course of martyrdom; / you extinguished the worship of idols / and became a champion of your flock, divinely-wise one. / Therefore, we honor you, / mystically crying out: / “Through your prayers deliver us from calamity, ever-memorable Anthimus.”

✠✠✠✠✠

Saint Theoctistus of Palestine was a great ascetic who lived in the Judean wilderness in the Wadi Mukellik. At first, he was the companion of Saint Euthymius the Great (January 20) in the ascetic lfe. So great was their mutual affection and oneness of mind that they seemed to live as one soul in two bodies. They were persons of similar virtue and holiness, and they encouraged one another in their struggles. Each year after the Leave-taking of Theophany, they would go into the desert to struggle and pray in solitude, returning to their cells on Palm Sunday.

After five years together, Saints Euthymius and Theoctistus went into the desert for Great Lent, and in a wadi, they discovered a large cave which later became a church. They decided to remain there, believing that they had been led there by God. They ate wild herbs to sustain themselves, and met with no other people for some time.

The Lord did not wish these great luminaries to remain hidden, however. He wanted their wisdom and holiness of life to become known in order to benefit others. One day, shepherds from Bethany found the ascetics and went back to their village and told others about them. After that, many people came to hear of them, and monks came from other monasteries to visit them. Some even stayed there in order to be instructed by them.

So many monks gathered around them that they were obliged to build a lavra over the cave church. Saint Euthymius made Theoctistus the igumen of the lavra, while he himself lived in seclusion in the cave. The wise Theoctistus accepted all who came to him, confessing them and treating the infirmities of their wounded souls with appropriate spiritual remedies.

When he reached an advanced old age, Saint Theoctistus became very ill. Saint Euthymius (who was ninety years old himself) visited him and took care of him. When Saint Theoctistus went to the Lord in 467, Patriarch Anastasius of Jerusalem came and presided at his burial service.

Saint Theoctistus of Palestine should not be confused with Saint Theoctistus of Sicily (January 4).

Troparion — Tone 4

Dedicated as God’s priest from your youth, / you spurned all worldly aims. / O Righteous Theoctistus you were radiant in your solitude / and strict in the training of monks. / Guide those who come to you and lead them in the way of salvation.

Kontakion — Tone 4

You kept your soul pure and presented it to God as his creation. / Enlightened by him, Theoctistus, you rose to the peak of endeavour. / By your works you confirmed the grace that was given to you.

Byzantine Saints: Venerable Theoctistus

Byzantine Saints: Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia & Those With Him

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 3 SEPTEMBER – SAINT PIUS X (Pope and Confessor)

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 3 SEPTEMBER – SAINT PIUS X (Pope and Confessor): Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was born in 1835 at Riese in the Venetian province of Treviso to Giovanni Battista Sarto, a postman, and Ma...

3 September, The Chesterton Calendar

SEPTEMBER 3rd

If votes for women do not mean mobs for women they do not mean what they were meant to mean.

'What's Wrong with the World.'

3 September, The Holy Rule of St Benedict, Patriarch of Western Monasticism

PROLOGUE OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER SAINT BENEDICT TO HIS RULE

3 Jan. 4 May. 3 Sept.

And the Lord, seeking His own workman in the multitude of the people to whom He thus crieth out, saith again: “Who is the man that will have life, and desireth to see good days. And if thou, hearing Him, answer, “I am he,” God saith to thee: “If thou wilt have true and everlasting life, keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips that they speak no guile. Turn from evil, and do good: seek peace and pursue it. And when you have done these things, My eyes will be upon you, and My ears will be open to your prayers; and before you call upon Me, I will say unto you, “Behold, I am here.” What can be sweeter to us, dearest brethren, than this voice of the Lord inviting us? Behold in His loving-kindness the Lord sheweth unto us the way of life.

4 September, The Roman Martyrology

Prídie Nonas Septémbris Luna vicésima secúnda. Anno Dómini 2026

September 4th 2026, the 22nd day of the Moon, is commemorated
The death of the holy Law-giver and Prophet Moses, upon Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab.
Upon the same 4th day of September, were born into the better life:
At Ancyra, in Galatia, the three holy children Rufinus, Silvanus, and Vitalicus, all martyrs.
At Chalons, in Gaul, under the Emperor Antonine, the holy martyr Marcellus he was bidden by Priscus the President to a sinful banquet, and, in his horror at such a feast, he boldly rebuked all them that were there for their serving of idols wherefore the same President, with strange cruelty, caused him to be buried in the earth up to the girdle, where he remained for three days still giving praise to God, and then yielded up to Him his spirit without stain.
On the same day, the holy martyrs Magnus, Castus, and Maximus.
At Trier, (in the third century,) the holy martyr Marcellus, Bishop (of that see.) On the same day holy Thamel, who had once been a priest of idols, and his Companions, all martyrs under the Emperor Hadrian.
Likewise the holy martyrs Theodore, Oceanus, Ammian, and Julian, who, under the Emperor Maximian, suffered martyrdom by having their feet cut off, and being then cast into a fire.
At Rimini, (in the fourth century,) the holy Deacon Marinus.
At Palermo, (in the year 1160,) the holy Rosalie, a Virgin of that city, sprung of the Imperial blood of Karl the Great, who for the love of Christ forsook her hereditary principality and her palace, and led an heavenly life alone upon the mountains and in caves of the earth.
At Naples, in Campania, holy Candida, who was the first to meet the holy Apostle Peter when he came to that city. She was baptized by him, and in the end she fell asleep in an holy death. There also, (in the sixth century,) holy Candida, called the Younger, famous for miracles.
At Viterbo, (in the year 1252,) the blessed Virgin Rose, (of the Third Order of Friars Minor.)
℣. And elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Meme of the Moment

Today is his Feast Day.

Traditional Catholic Evening Prayers in English | September

Traditional Catholic evening devotional prayers to close your day with your mind, heart, tongue, and soul on our Lord! The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Begin and end each day with prayer. This video is a compilation of many traditional evening prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office evening prayers.

Compline

From St Thomas Aquinas Seminary. You may follow the Office at Divinum Officium.

Byzantine Saints: 3,628 Martyrs Who Suffered at Nicomedia

Bld Margaret, Virgin & Martyr, at Louvain: Butler's Lives of the Saints

Vespers of Wednesday for the Feast of St Stephen, King & Confessor

From the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem. You may follow the Office at Divinum Officium.

Summa Contra Gentiles, Book II: LXXII That the Whole Soul Is in the Whole Body & in Each Part Thereof

From Contemplating History

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274), was a Doctor of the Church, Philosopher, Theologian, Jurist, Dominican Friar, and Priest. Known as Doctor Angelicus "Angelic Doctor," and the Doctor Communis "Universal Doctor" his writings serve as a defense and proof of the validity of Christ's authority over all. The Summa contra Gentiles (also known as Liber de veritate catholicae fidei contra errores infidelium, "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers"). The Summa contra Gentiles consists of four books. The structure of Saint Thomas's work is designed to proceed from general philosophical arguments for monotheism, to which Muslims and Jews are likely to consent even within their own respective religious traditions, before progressing to the discussion of specifically Christian doctrine.

Book II is dedicated to the Creation (in other words, the physical universe, everything which exists). Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of religion, or simply curious about the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the world, this playlist is designed to provide an informative and engaging journey through its captivating past. Subscribe to the Contemplating History channel for more educational content and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history.

Bernardo Kastrup PhD (Computer Engineering & Philosophy) - Can AI Become Conscious?

From Closer to Truth, a secular source.

AI consciousness, its possibility or probability, has burst into public debate, eliciting all kinds of issues from AI ethics and rights to AI going rogue and harming humanity. We explore diverse views; we argue that AI consciousness depends on theories of consciousness.

Bernardo Kastrup is a Dutch philosopher and computer scientist recognized for his contributions to consciousness studies, notably through his formulation of analytic idealism—a variant of metaphysical idealism rooted in the analytic tradition.

The Holy Rosary

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

The King Who Died of Diarrhoea | What Was Found in King John’s Coffin | How Did King John Die?

From History Calling

Why was the death of King John so gruesome, not to mention smelly and what was found in King John’s coffin when it was opened in 1529 and 1797? In this Plantagenet documentary from History Calling, we look at the death of King John in 1216, at why many medieval chroniclers thought that he got what was coming to him, at what was buried in King John’s coffin along with him and what the inside of King John’s coffin looked like when he was disinterred in 1529 and 1797. King John was the villain of the Robin Hood stories and has gone down in history as one of England’s worst Kings, a man hated during his lifetime and despised after his death, but what killed King John and was it truly a terrible death? In this video I use original sources including Roger of Wendover, Ralph Coggeshall, Matthew Paris and Valentine Green to reveal the misery of King John’s final days. By 1216 King John had already been forced by his nobles to sign Magna Carta and was facing an invasion from the French Prince Louis who had been offered the throne of England by the English nobles after John failed to abide by the Great Charter’s clauses. In the course of fighting to regain control of his kingdom, he fell ill with dysentery on the night of 9-10 October 1216 in the town of King’s Lynn, possibly because of greed at the dinner table. What is dysentery though, I hear you ask and how could it kill a King? Put simply, it’s an infection in your bowels which causes diarrhoea with blood in it. Nowadays it can be treated, but in the 13th century it could and did kill. John’s final days were miserable. He lost his baggage train in the Wash including the English Crown Jewels before struggling on to Newark where he died on the night of 18-19 October aged about 49. You may also be wondering, where was King John buried? The answer is at Worcester Cathedral, as per his final instructions and in this video I’ll also reveal what he was wearing in his coffin and at what was found when he was dug up (twice).

The Catholic Church and Science (The Church Loves Science!)

From Catholic Truth

This video is on the Catholic Church and Science and how the Church loves science! It dispels the myth that the church is anti-science and shows our dept to the Catholic Church.

The Kentucky Farmer Who Taught Me How To Live

Wendell Berry died on Monday. Even though he wasn't a Catholic, he had a lot to teach us about the Catholic ideas of distributism and subsidiarity.

From Aleteia

By Theresa Civantos Barber

We honor the message and witness of writer and farmer Wendell Berry, who championed human dignity and strong community in a fragmented age.

“It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines.” That sounds like it could have been inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, or Pope Francis’ 2015 work Laudato Si’, but they were the words of a humble farmer and writer from Kentucky — the great Wendell Berry, who passed away August 31 at age 92. His family shared the news on social media:

The Berry Center and Berry family are heartbroken to announce the death of Wendell Erdman Berry, writer and farmer of Port Royal, Henry County, Kentucky. He passed suddenly and peacefully at home yesterday afternoon, August 31st. His work continues, here and in every place where people aim to live according to nature’s measure, on and with and of their beloved home place.

Berry’s lifelong defense of rural communities and the land — manifested in more than 80 books of poetry, essays, and fiction, and in his outspoken activism — influenced modern life in ways we might not even realize, as he shaped everything from sustainable agriculture and the local food movement to modern literature. One of the greatest modern writers, and certainly one of the best-known voices speaking out against industrialization and consumerism, his works and his life offer a witness to subsidiarity and distributism — the Catholic social-teaching principle that decisions are best made at the smallest, most local scale.

While not Catholic (he was Baptist), Berry’s consistent advocacy for human dignity and against greed often brought him into close alliance with Catholic beliefs and the writings of modern popes. Pope Francis, for example, criticized what he called “the throwaway culture” that “idolizes money,” while Pope Leo XIV urges “the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,” bearing in mind that “true progress always stems from a heart open to others.” Berry’s call for a more human and sustainable world, one in which human dignity isn’t reliant on utility or productivity, echoes their messages.

Poured out

The openhanded approach to life Berry championed also aligned with a Christian mindset. “So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute,” he urged in one of his best-known poems, Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, and I think of this line whenever I’m explaining to my children why we are taking time out of our busy day to make a meal for a newly postpartum friend. The saints poured themselves out with an extravagant generosity that baffles economic and utilitarian calculations, and Berry understood just how much a strong community relies on repeated kindness that doesn’t keep score.

Encountering Berry’s works at university changed my life, motivating me to move back to where I grew up instead of embarking on the rootless lifestyle more common among my peers. He continues to change my life, as I read and re-read his beloved novels and ponder how to live up to his slow-living ideals as a suburban mom whose closest foray into farming was managing not to kill a few zinnias. But I’m going to keep trying, because I believe in the things he championed—cultivating thriving communities built on a deep affection for our own “home place” with all its eccentricities, honoring elders and the wisdom of the past, and being genuinely grateful for what we have instead of constantly searching for “the next best thing.” I'm never going to move to a small farm like he did, but Berry inspires me to care for my community and the place and people around me.

Curious about Wendell Berry? If you’d like to get started reading his works, we recommend his best poems, his seminal nonfiction work The Unsettling of America, and his elegiac and lyrical novels Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow.  

If you’d like to honor his memory, here are a few simple ways to “live as a creature, not as a machine”—to embrace his ethic of hands-on work, rooted community, and simple dignity. 

• Plant a garden, or even just a flower in a pot
• Pray
• Talk to your neighbors, even if you don’t seem to have much in common
• Fix something broken instead of immediately throwing it away
• Make something with your hands—bread, a scarf, a house—whatever you can
• Shop from your farmers’ market or CSA
• Do something kind for someone who won’t return the favor
• Buy something you need secondhand
• Read Wendell Berry's works
• Put down deep roots, in your hometown or wherever you are
• “Practice resurrection.”

Synodal Bishops Propose Letting Laity Boss Priests and Bishops Around

Leo Calls Upon Bishops To Make Francis' Heretical Decree Permanent

There is no longer any doubt that he's Francis 2.0!

Amoris Laetitia is going to be discussed by the bishops with the aim of full implementation across the Church, with Leo describing Francis' heretical document as core to the Church's teaching.

Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | September

Traditional Catholic morning prayers to help start your day in a holy way! The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. I hope these prayers increase your devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary this month, to share in her sorrows and to and draw you closer to her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. Begin each day with morning prayer! This video is a compilation of many traditional evening prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office evening prayers.

Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | September

Traditional Catholic morning prayers to help start your day in a holy way! The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. I hope these prayers increase your devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary this month, to share in her sorrows and to and draw you closer to her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. Begin each day with morning prayer! This video is a compilation of many traditional evening prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office morning prayers.

Did Medieval Peasants Really Live That Badly?

From Modern History TV

We walk through a full day in the life of an ordinary English peasant during the Middle Ages. Based entirely on real historical records, not fantasy tropes and a bit of speculation. From sunrise in the fields to meals, family life, work, and rest, discover how tough, busy, and surprisingly organised their days really were. You'll learn: What time peasants woke up (and why it wasn’t always dawn), What they actually ate (hint: not just bread and gruel). The jobs men, women, and children did.

Whether you're into medieval history, building immersive fantasy worlds, or just curious about how different life used to be, this video offers a grounded, eye-opening look at the real medieval experience.

No AI, AI free, human made, no gen AI. Everything in this video is filmed, tested, and experienced in real conditions. No AI-generated content. Did Medieval Peasants Really Live That Badly? What was it really like to be a MEDIEVAL PEASANT?

The Papacy Is Biblical! (Yes – The Pope Is in the Bible!)

From Catholic Truth

The Papacy is Biblical! In this video, we offer clear evidence for the Papacy being Biblical, more than a shallow surface reading of the Bible. Suan Sonna helps us understand how the papacy is biblical.

How Hungary Was Founded by a “Holy Family”

Today is the Feast of St Stephen the First Crowned, as he is known in Hungary. His wife is Bld Gisele of Bavaria, and his son is St Emeric of Hungary.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

The Kingdom of Hungary began with St. Stephen, whose wife is beatified and son is canonized.

In the year 1000 (or early 1001), St. Stephen was crowned the first King of Hungary. This began a long line of rulers, ending with Bl. Karl of Austria, the last King of Hungary, in 1918.

Not only was St. Stephen known for his personal holiness, but so were his wife, Bl. Gisela, and son, St. Emeric.

Pope John Paul II commented on this saintly foundation in a message to the Hungarian people in 2000.

This history begins with a holy king, rather, with a "holy family":  Stephen, with his wife, Bl. Gisela, and their son, St. Emeric, are the first saintly Hungarian family. This seed would sprout and bring forth a host of noble figures who would distinguish Pannonia Sacra: one need only think of St. Ladislaus, St. Elizabeth and St. Margaret!

Bl. Gisela was beatified in 1975. She was known for her efforts to spread the Christian faith throughout their kingdom, and after her husband's death she spent the rest of her life in a Benedictine convent.

St. Emeric died young, at the age of 24, but followed his father's example and strove for holiness in his life. After his death, many miracles were attributed to his intercession.

Continuing his reflection of the Hungarian nation, Pope John Paul II noted how St. Stephen's actions laid a firm foundation in the Christian faith that endured for many centuries.

At the dawn of the millennium, the figure of King St. Stephen stands out. He founded the State on the firm rock of Christian values, and for this reason wanted to receive the royal crown from the hands of my Predecessor, Pope Sylvester II. Thus the Hungarian nation was founded in deep unity with the Chair of Peter and bound by close ties to other European countries, which shared the same Christian culture. This culture was the vital sap flowing through the fibres of the developing plant, which assured its growth and vigor, and prepared the extraordinary flourishing that was to come.

As Pope John Paul II mentioned above, many other saints would sprout from this foundation and reinforces the truth that a single family united to God can have a lasting impact on the world.

SSPX Excommunicated: Why The Decrees Are Invalid

From I Miss Christendom

Peter Kwasnieski's article https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/202...

Dom Prosper Guéranger's Prayer to St Stephen for Hungary

Apostle and king, protect thy people, assist the Church, succor us all. At the close of that tenth century, when anarchy had penetrated even into the sanctuary, hope sprang up once more on the day whereon the Holy Spirit, the Creator and Renovator, chose thy race, in all its native vigor, to renew the youth of the world. Satan, who thought that the Papacy was humiliated once for all, trembled with rage when he saw new laborers coming to Peter, as to the only foundation on which it is possible to build. The proudest family that had ever caused the empire of Romulus to shake, asked of Rome the right to be counted among the nations of the West. How true it is that the gates of hell shall never prevail against the rock, against the Church founded thereon, against the holy city prepared on the top of mountains to draw all nations to itself. In vain had the storm stirred up the very mire of the torrents of the abyss: it was the hour when God lifted up his hand, as the prophet says, towards the far-off lands, and kings came, bringing to the ever-holy Bride those unknown sons whom they themselves had educated for her. (Isaiah 49:12-23)

No, the Lord confoundeth not them that wait for him. And therefore, we will hope, even against hope, in the future of the noble nation established by thee upon the apostolic strength. A people justly proud of so many irreproachable heroes could not allow itself to be long led astray by a false liberty kept up by Jewish gold and extolled by all the enemies of the country’s traditions. Martin watches together with thee over the land of his birth; and the sovereign of Hungary, the august Queen of heaven, will not suffer her loyal subject to the listen to the proposals of the infernal spirit.

When Tradition Inspires Fiction

Fr de Malleray reviews three new novels concerning the TLM's impact on people's lives. More evidence that good Catholic fiction is alive.

From Crisis

By Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP

Through the centuries the Catholic ethos inspired sinners and saints alike into great works of art and literature. After a significant hiatus, we can find it springing up around the world again.

The Traditional Latin Mass is considered by many as the synthesis and pinnacle of civilization, having inspired artists of all kinds over the centuries. Its current revival is expected to benefit the wider culture again—starting with fiction writing, as illustrated by three recent novels. 

That novelists from different continents should feel inspired to describe the same phenomenon, albeit from various angles, confirms the vitality and relevance of their shared topic of interest. Three lady novelists—one from Spain, one from America, and one from England—have published novels about the trend identified as the Traditional (Latin Mass) revival. Surprisingly, none of their three novels overtly deals with the traditional liturgy, theology, or philosophy. Such omissions may be a blessing in disguise, allowing their plots to unfold with more literary genuineness than if using fiction as a thin veil for doctrinal affirmations.

Perhaps more convincingly, therefore, the three stories entail, but don’t insist upon, traditional Latin church communities. What takes place in the sanctuary, the reasons for the traditional Latin worship, the crises in Church and society caused by the eclipse of liturgical reverence and doctrinal clarity, all such considerations are woven into the narratives as material taken for granted rather than domineering the plot. Let us take a look at each novel.

A Spanish journalist with a law degree, Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera published her breakthrough novel The Awakening of Miss Prim in 2013 (Booket Editions). The heroine is Prudencia Prim, an academic young woman applying for a position as a librarian in a family home set in an idyllic French village. Through her interactions with the children of the house and their father and grandmother, as well as with the villagers, Miss Prim journeys from her rather secularist and feminist assumptions to a surprising admission of the value and truth offered through principles and behaviors which she used to decry as oppressive or delusory.

Her perception changes slowly, without fanfare, nor with a sense of defeat. Rather, she comes to admit that religious faith, if its object is true, offers a decisive criterion for selecting a spouse, as well as the surest basis for neighbourly life in a rural community and also, ultimately, for one’s spiritual awakening. The tone is light and even humorous—but not at the expense of the heroine, a likeable figure victim of her secular upbringing. The novel gently suggests, rather than hammers, the solution or remedy. Without disclosing too much, we can say that Prudencia’s conversation with a traditional Benedictine monk, short as it is, acts as a catalyst that will confirm the intuitions nurtured in her soul through the friendship of the entire village community. Translated into various languages, The Awakening of Miss Prim has met with unexpected success.

Elizabeth Altham is a retired teacher in America. Her novel Death Comes to Wyandotte (published in 2025 by Os Justi Press) depicts the transition, within a crumbling American Midwest parish, toward a thriving Traditional Latin Mass community. A significant feature is the absence of complacency evinced by the Traditional group. Indeed, the change is initiated by the diocesan bishop himself in response to a request for the Traditional Latin Mass by a local association of lay people.

However, the prelate does not grant their wish out of the goodness of this heart. With rather unfatherly irony, he allocates to them the most modern church building he can think of, literally a spaceship made of concrete, devoid of any orientation or sacred features. Thankfully, he also appoints Fathers Hopkins and Houghton, two likeable priests from among his own diocesan clergy (even though his motive is only to rid himself of conservative clerics). Their fraternal life and cheerful efforts to revive Catholic life against gloom and doom provide the main thread in the narrative. They receive grassroots support, suggesting that interest—and, later, love—for the traditional ways are shared by the population far beyond the initial committee that petitioned the bishop.

Such is perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the story, since it gently debunks the myth that Traditional Latin Mass-goers are a different species from mainstream Catholics. The “flying saucer” shape of the church allocated by the bishop subliminally betrays his assumption that “trads” come from elsewhere than “Planet Church” and with questionable motivations—that is, as invaders, not as brethren. Far from such antagonism, Altham’s novel can be seen as a blueprint for the revival of dying church communities, benefitting locals and inspiring many more across that diocese and further afield.

Bernice Zieba lives with her husband and children within a Traditional Latin Mass community in England. She published, in 2026, The Spire (Jan Webmedia). Its main protagonist is Alice, a young Englishwoman living in 2075 in Preston, Lancashire. Zieba’s depiction of our country in half a century, when digital technology is ubiquitously applied by the woke State to control every move and thought of the population, is painfully credible. Scheduled for demolition, a church with a very tall spire becomes the gate through which Alice travels back to the 19th century and then as far back as penal times under Protestant persecution.

Along her rabbit hole, modern Alice falls into no wonderland, but she discovers periods in history when faith, and Catholicism in particular, were worth standing up for and even dying for. In The Spire, the heroine embodies modern young generations in our secular Western world. They are unchurched, lack basic knowledge of history, and, consequently, assume that religion and family are long shaken-off shackles from a bygone era. But human nature in them cannot be eradicated as long as they breathe, nor the craving for God and His created reflections as truth, beauty, and bounty.

Thus, Alice warms to a fellow time traveller, Fr. O’Brien, first encountered as the zealous pastor of the 19th-century parish church and then as a heroic recusant priest under Tudor persecution. Mrs. Zieba’s attention to detail shows in her carefully researched depictions of the slums and cotton mills in Preston during the Industrial Revolution, with moving Dickensian hues. Why may mature readers, not only teenagers, enjoy reading The Spire? Because its juxtaposing of three epochs feels neither artificial nor childish but aims at showing that our era, the 2020s, is blessed with small, budding Traditional Latin Mass communities which we should support and make widely known, thus helping curb secular oppression and investing in the lasting reconversion of England.

Readers may have come across more novels depicting the Traditional Latin Mass revival. These three are not presented here on the basis of their literary merit, even though their plots are well constructed, their style flows unobtrusively, and their characters are consistent. Indeed, professional literary critics may wish for more depth and complexity to these narratives. Enjoyable as they are, they may not pass the test of time as works of art—since very, very few novels do so in any generation. They matter still as a sample manifesting the impact of the traditional Latin revival upon the imagination of the wider population.

For decades we have heard a growing number of people dare call the crisis by its name. Admittedly, fiction has been used already to depict the liturgical and doctrinal crisis affecting the Church, such as in Fr. Bryan Houghton’s Mitre and Crook (1979), and in Stephen Oliver’s Smoke in the Sanctuary (2004, Epsilon Books). But those books focused on the struggle of bishops and priests trying to salvage the treasures of tradition as from within the clerical scope. Useful as such books are, and very much retaining their relevance to our day, they did not give pride of place to the ordeal of the foot soldiers, the people still in the pews or already lapsed.

The Awakening of Miss Prim, Death Comes to Wyandotte, and The Spire focus on the perception of the Church crisis by the laity as an existential want. The voice of the flock speaks higher here—at times confused, desperate, then resolute and grateful. The malaise felt by communities deprived of the traditional founts of liturgical and doctrinal sustenance and their attempts to seek, retrieve, and secure pearls of great price is worth depicting. The fact that three novelists—all of them laywomen, from various parts of the world—have been inspired to do so confirms the growing engagement of our generation in restoring the Roman traditions of the Church as a living treasure feeding the imagination of all so as to enlighten minds and warm up hearts with divine charity.

St Stephen of Hungary, King & Confessor

Today's Holy Mass from SSPX Australia. You may follow the Mass at Divinum Officium.

St Stephen King of Hungary ~ Dom Prosper Guéranger