Embarking on the Year of Faith: An Ecumenical Step

My dear friend Jessica has highlighted in warmth and charity a remarkable but largely overlooked moment here at the beginning of our Year of Faith: Jessica’s own archbishop, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, addressed the Catholic Synod of Bishops in Rome yesterday, offering meaningful words on the contemplation of Christ and its essential connection …

The Year of Faith

Today begins the Catholic Church’s Year of Faith, proclaimed by Pope Benedict as “a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world.” It’s a time for the study and teaching of the Christian faith and for dedication to the New Evangelization. I invite all believers to join …

Peccavimus: We have sinned

Today I discovered a new composer, and was immediately inspired to share him with my friends, and one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I’d translated the text of this overpoweringly beautiful and stirring motet. I thought it was worth sharing with you all. I don’t know how many of you worldwide …

Of good report

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. —Philippians 4:8 I’m having a pretty good day. So I thought I …

Logos Bible Software for Catholics: A not entirely selfless plug

Blog friends, I want to show you something cool. I was recently introduced by Jimmy Akin's podcast to Logos Bible Software for Catholics. I have long slavered over Logos’s incredible software libraries, with bibles and lexica and commentaries galore — whole books by the hundreds loaded up on the cart. Unfortunately, their scholarly packages are …

My first blog awards!

I am very surprised and grateful to be nominated for a couple of blog awards, from my new friend The Catholic Nomad: The instructions for accepting these awards are to link back to the nominating blogger, share seven things about myself, and then recommend a few other blogs to accept the awards as well. The …

Dropping the mask

This nom de plume I’ve been using, Paul Pilgrim, is getting a little burdensome and inconvenient. Initially, while I was in the process of converting, my blog was semi-anonymous, only known to a few, select, trusted friends, and anybody else who randomly happened by. I was kind of timid of having to defend my nascent …

Giving y’all a Tour

I posted a new page last night that may be of interest to folks who are new here are or who are just passing through: A Brief Tour. It’s a description of the categories in my blog I consider most important to what I’m about, a listing of my favorite posts that I hope you …