Of Wizards and Men
One of my favorite moments in the legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien is the arrival of the wizard Gandalf on the shores of Middle-Earth as recounted in Appendix B of The […]
Read More 
The Immaculata’s Formation of the Celibate Heart
“The Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone.”[1] Nor should he be. Yet the Church asks her priests to live a life of celibacy that […]
Read More
The Transformation of the Shepherds
And so we have come, Lady, Our day’s work done, Our love, our hopes, ourselves, We give to your Son. This is the final stanza of The Shepherd’s Carol, by […]
Read More
Cowards Need Not Apply: On the Virtue of Fortitude in Relation to the Priesthood
I tried to come up with some stylish or sophisticated introduction to this reflection, at least something witty or clever, but all I came up with was too overly theatrical […]
Read More
Lesson From Lepanto
“White founts falling in the courts of the sun, And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run; There is laughter like the fountains in that face of all […]
Read More
The Apostles of Virginia
In 1849, the English priest Fr. Frederick William Faber wrote a now famous hymn entitled “Faith of our Fathers” of the English Martyrs. The first verse and the refrain go […]
Read MoreOn the Ministry of Acolyte
On January 31st, the Feast of St. John Bosco, six of my classmates at Theological College and I were instituted as acolytes while another six seminarians, including Charlottesville’s own […]
Read More
In service to one another
Jesus is true God and true man. November 10th, is the feast of St. Leo the Great, who lived in the 400s and served the Church as a deacon and […]
Read More
My Story About the Little Flower
“I feel my mission is soon to begin, to make others love God as I do, to teach others my ‘little way.’ I will spend my Heaven doing good upon […]
Read More
Martyrs of the Commonwealth
“Because zeal for your house has consumed me, I am scorned by those who scorn you.” Psalm 69:10 On September 10th, 1570, decades before the English established Jamestown, the […]
Read More