Explaining Lent to a Jesuit: An Attempt at Mission Impossible

A penitential exercise…

Explaining Lent to a Jesuit:
An Attempt at Mission Impossible

Br. Joe Hoover, S.J.

The Society of Jesus, as the Jesuit order is formally called, was once the glory of the Catholic Church. It was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) to combat the Protestant heresy and includes such glorious saints as St. Peter Canisius, St. Francis Xavier, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. John Berchmans, St. John de Brebeuf, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Peter Claver, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, to name but a few, and such eminent scholars as Cardinal Johann Franzelin, Cardinal Louis Billot, Fr. Francisco Suarez, Fr.… READ MORE

A Brief Catholic Critique of Communism (1939)

Fr. Edward Leen against the Marxists…

A Brief Catholic Critique of Communism

Early protagonists of Communism: Vladimir Lenin, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx

In 1939, the magnificent Irish Catholic writer Fr. Edward Leen (1885-1944) published a book entitled The Church before Pilate. Released at a critical moment in history, it addresses the relations between the Catholic Church and the secular authority. At only 78 pages, it is a short read and highly recommended.

In Chapter 2 of The Church before Pilate, the author devotes a subsection to the topic of Communism. He offers a sobering analysis of the despicable, materialistic, godless system introduced by Karl Marx (1818-1883), identifying it as “the most uncompromising enemy of Catholicity”, indeed “the most thorough expression of the partial, incomplete and somewhat illogical revolts that have marked the course of Christianity from the first years of the Christian era.”… READ MORE

In Year-End Homily read by “Cardinal” Re, Francis repudiates Supernatural Purpose of Suffering and Death

Bergoglian Naturalism at full throttle…

In Year-End Homily read by “Cardinal” Re, Francis repudiates Supernatural Purpose to Suffering and Death

As the year 2020 came to a close, it was a given that one man in particular would have something to say: Mr. Jorge Bergoglio, otherwise known by his stage name, “Pope Francis.”

Although not physically present himself due to a painful flare-up of sciatica, the scheduled Bergoglian message still reverberated in St. Peter’s Basilica as it was read by “Cardinal” Giovanni Battista Re (pictured above) at the Vespers ceremony on Dec. 31.

In his sermon, not only did Francis put forward his typical Naturalism, which was to be expected; he explicitly disavowed any supernatural purpose to the Coronavirus pandemic (whether it ever was a genuine pandemic is another question that is not of interest here).… READ MORE