Catholicism
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Based on the values
Authority has lost its nobility along with humility. Authority has become a synonym for implacable order, thoughtless force, and tyranny. What an inversion of values! Whereas, according to Antigone, authority prevented tyranny! The modern era has this impression of authority because it has been trampled underfoot by Continue reading
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Novena for France
What a beautiful initiative! A novena for France. A novena to express our love for the Blessed Virgin and ask her to watch over our beautiful country with all the saints. It's pointless to rant on social media or the internet, or even in the street; it's pointless to rant. Continue reading
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The Humanity of Cheyenne Carron — Reflections on the film The Apostle
What astonishment overwhelmed me one recent morning as I listened to the voice of a young woman being interviewed by Louis Daufresne on his program, Le Grand Témoin, on Radio Notre-Dame. I was about to learn that this young woman's name was Cheyenne Carron. A Christian, she had made a film, L'Apôtre (The Apostle), the story of a Muslim touched by grace who decides to convert to Christianity. Continue reading
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To which saints should we pray?
The Marcial Maciel case forces us to confront the question of evil. Our era avoids engaging with it. What do we know of the devil's work, and what can we do to protect ourselves from it? After attempting to conceal the good in life, should we be surprised that evil is now revealed? The works of the devil are... Continue reading
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News about humility
The human vision of humility is like the human vision of love: limited. Humility must exert its influence at all times and in all places. Humility does not allow for a choice about whether or not to practice it. Humility thus demands infinite availability and infinite vigilance. It demands—a term that has almost disappeared from our vocabulary—a word that has almost disappeared from our vocabulary. Continue reading
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Gregorian chant is intended for the liturgy
Excerpt from "The Holy Mass, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," quote from Mr. Dominique Ponnau, Director of the École du Louvre, lecture given in Le Mans, September 19, 1998. "I remember. This memory is for me an almost daily cultural and human reference point. It was in June 1985, in Pont-à-Mousson, at the end of the colloquium..." Continue reading
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Christian testimony – 2
When I started this blog, the idea of writing about the liturgy quickly came to me. Not to claim expert status, but to share my experience of what represents the heart of a Christian's life. So there were two paths that had to merge: I had to tell the Mass (and Continue reading
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In the polluted air of our societies
“We are told that the air of the world is unbreathable. I agree. But the first Christians found each morning at their doorstep an atmosphere saturated with vice, idols, and incense offered to the gods. For more than two hundred years, they were relegated, slandered, and marginalized by the current of the social river that swept them away.” Continue reading
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Speech by Donoso Cortès (1850)
“Regular armies are today the only thing preventing civilization from descending into barbarism. Today, a spectacle new in history, new in the world, unfolds before our eyes: when, gentlemen, has the world ever seen, except in our own time, that civilization is attained through arms and through… Continue reading
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The abandonment of Benedict XVI
“Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?” When Benedict XVI signaled, in a few simple words, that he was renouncing the papacy, it sent shockwaves through the world and deeply affected Catholics. The most outlandish rumors circulated, and everyone wondered about the reasons for this decision, which, even if it… Continue reading
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The death of intimacy
Everywhere—on the internet, in newspapers, or on television—personal experience is displayed, exhibited, and presented as the definitive reference. This indecency rests on a reversal of values. It is based primarily and ubiquitously on the idea of sameness. The idea of sameness suggests: “I lived through this; my experience reflects a universal feeling. I want to say what…” Continue reading
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A short history of Envy, from hero to scapegoat
The modern world constantly presents us with scapegoats. Lance Armstrong, Richard Millet, Jérôme Kerviel, John Galliano, to name just a few, each in their own field, with completely different causes and reasons, have recently embodied the scapegoat, the justly punished culprit, the troublemaker put in their place. Continue reading
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Christian testimony
When I started this blog, the idea of writing about the liturgy quickly came to me. Not to claim expert status, but to share my experience about what represents the heart of a Christian's life. So there were two paths that had to merge: I had to tell the Continue reading
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In the heart of darkness, life
After seeing "The Tree of Life," I long forbade myself from writing about the film. Two forces clashed within me. Captivated by its poetry, by the state of bliss I was immersed in, I was afraid of disturbing the surface of this work. I became so enveloped in the mystery of this film that... Continue reading