During the decisive “Council of Elrond” chapter in The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf suggests a plan that is not only dangerous but absurd: to walk into Mordor and attempt to destroy the One Ring of Power. It seems foolish, which een Gandalf admits, but the folly of the endeavor... Read more

Devotees of G.K. Chesterton are celebrating the news that Beaconsfield planning authorities have rejected plans to demolish the acclaimed Catholic writer and philosopher’s former home, Overroads. Just before Christmas, developers lodged two applications with the local council to knock the... Read more

It’s been a long time since television ads during the Super Bowl were just ads — and opportunities to make a trip to the kitchen for more chips and guacamole. We’ve gotten so accustomed to those Monday morning conversations at the office water cooler being as much about the ads as about... Read more

The other day, I found myself in a cramped waiting room dominated by a television much too large and loud for the space. After the third or fourth depressing “newsworthy” tidbit in a row, an old man glanced over at me and smiled ruefully. “Why can’t they have a whole channel that... Read more

This essay was given as a homily on November 16, 2019, at the Mass of the Americas at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, directly over the spot where our Lord’s Cross stood, there stands a Greek altar.... Read more

A long time ago, a man of resourceful and relentless kindness saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. He trusted me when I thought I was untrustworthy, and took an interest in me that went beyond my initial interest in him. He was the first person I ever wrote about who became my... Read more

France’s Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill on the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral— three months after a fire destroyed the church’s roof— even amid disagreement on the best way to proceed with the restoration. The April 15 fire destroyed the wooden roof of the cathedral as well... Read more

This year, the fifth annual Eucharistic Procession known as the Fête-Dieu du Teche is set to take place on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thursday, August 15. While the feast day is an important celebration for all Catholics, it is especially so for the faithful of... Read more

Clerical sexual abuse of minors; sexual harassment and assault in the film industry; Catholic traditionalist and modernizing impulses; homosexuality and the definition of marriage; populism vs. elitism; strict anti-abortion laws: Somehow the life of Franco Zeffirelli, who died June 15 at age 96,... Read more

These 500-year-old boxwood miniatures from the 16th century are tiny religious carvings created in Flanders (Netherlands) that require researchers to view them using micro-CT scanning, Advanced 3D analysis Software, and even X-rays. Market demand for profitable religious 16th-century carvings... Read more