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Christmas Cake, Cards, And Carols… How Some Christmas Traditions Began

December 28, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Christmas Cake, Cards, And Carols… How Some Christmas Traditions Began

By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY The main focus for our Advent preparations for Christmas, should, of course, be on the Gospel accounts of the Nativity of our Lord. But there are also numerous traditions which have grown up around Christmas, which, while not essential, do encourage a Christmas spirit and contribute toward the celebrations. The word “Christmas” goes back almost a thousand years, and is an abbreviation of “Christ’s Mass.” This name, with its focus on the birth of Christ and the Eucharist, is partly a reflection of the fact that there are strong Eucharistic overtones in the Nativity accounts — Bethlehem means “House of Bread,” and Jesus was laid in a manger, a receptacle which was designed to hold fodder…Continue Reading

Will The Secessionist Epidemic Ever End?

December 27, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Will The Secessionist Epidemic Ever End?

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Fresh from his triumphal “Get Brexit Done!” campaign, Prime Minister Boris Johnson anticipates a swift secession from the European Union. But if Britain secedes from the EU, warns Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland will secede from the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, which voted in 2016 to remain in the EU, could follow Scotland out of Britain, leaving her with “Little England” and Wales. Not going to happen, says Boris. His government will not allow a second referendum on Scottish independence. Yet the Scottish National Party won 48 of Scotland’s 59 seats in Parliament, and Sturgeon calls this a mandate for a new vote to secede: “If (Boris) thinks…saying no is the end of the matter…Continue Reading

Interview with Cardinal Burke… He Is With Us: Trusting In The Lord In Turbulent Times

December 26, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Interview with Cardinal Burke… He Is With Us: Trusting In The Lord In Turbulent Times

By DON FIER (Editor’s Note: His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Prefect Emeritus of the Apostolic Signatura, recently visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wis. On December 9, His Eminence graciously granted The Wanderer a wide-ranging interview and offered many illuminating insights on matters that concern the Church in the present time. Below is part one of the interview; part two will appear in the next issue of The Wanderer, the issue to be published on January 2 and dated January 9.) PART ONE Q. More than a month has passed since the Pan-Amazon synod (October 3-28, 2019). Please offer your critique on the outcome of the…Continue Reading

Does A British Political Victory Once Again Foreshadow Triumph For Trump?

December 25, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Does A British Political Victory Once Again Foreshadow Triumph For Trump?

By DEXTER DUGGAN With beefy, bellowing blond moptops improbably ruling putatively conservative political parties in both the United States and United Kingdom, the search for other parallels is tempting. Neither Donald Trump nor Boris Johnson fits a casting director’s dream of a supposedly suave persuader, but their successful challenges to ossified assumptions paid off at the ballot box in more than one election. Nor are they alone. Recently victorious national leaders with a take-charge image include Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Whatever the inflections of these pols’ philosophies, each of them and also others successfully sought distressed voters who’d been shunted aside by economic globalists with shimmering think-tank theories that suffered in reality. When…Continue Reading

The Innkeeper Reconsidered

December 24, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on The Innkeeper Reconsidered

By JOANNE SADLER BUTLER In the familiar “Infancy Gospel” of Luke, the innkeeper who sends Joseph and Mary to the stable might be viewed as hard-hearted and selfish. The Gospel (Luke 2:7) cites a lack of room at the inn as the reason for Joseph and Mary going to the stable. But was the innkeeper truly selfish? Or was he merciful? First, let us consider why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem. The Gospel (Luke 2:1-5) tells us the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus required a census of all people in the Roman Empire. His goal was collecting taxes — not just from the Romans in Rome, but from everyone in the empire. Because Joseph was of the tribe of Judah…Continue Reading

Christmas, A Celebration Of Family

December 23, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Christmas, A Celebration Of Family

By LAWRENCE P. GRAYSON Christmas is a nostalgic time that evokes feelings of joy, serenity, love, and a desire for family gatherings. Songs like I’ll Be Home for Christmas and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year arouse memories of holidays past celebrated in the warmth and love of family life. Now more than half a century since their release, these emotive songs are still seasonal standards. The true beauty of Christmas, however, is more than sentimental reminiscences. Its essence is religious, centered on the celebration and meaning of God becoming man. Churches will be beautifully decorated, prominently displaying a crèche with statues representing the Infant Jesus and those who were with Him at His birth in Bethlehem. People…Continue Reading

The Topic Of Capra-Corn

December 22, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on The Topic Of Capra-Corn

By DONALD DE MARCO Francesco Rosario Capra, better known to fans of the cinema as Frank Capra, was born on May 18, 1897 (Pope St. John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920) in Bisacquino, Sicily, the youngest of seven children. He died in La Quinta, California at the age of 94. The journey from Bisacquino to La Quinta bears a curious literal resemblance to Aquinas. His family left for the United States when Francesco was five years of age. As he recounted many years later in his autobiography, The Name Above the Title, it was the worst experience of his life, but seeing the Statue of Liberty was the best experience of his life. This contrast between the…Continue Reading

Changing Times, Timeless Truths

December 21, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Changing Times, Timeless Truths

By CHRISTOPHER MANION In 1919 my father was mustered out of the Army after World War One. That was a pivotal year for millions of young men. They were making decisions about their own future as well as that of their country. Dad was making plans too. Years later, he remarked that, as he had surveyed the America of 1919, the most respected members of the community seemed to be the teacher, the doctor, the lawyer, and the priest. At this time of year, folks often reminisce about how things were when they were kids — or when their grandparents were. A century ago, broadcast radio was in its infancy. So too were automobiles, airplanes, even electricity. Yet, teachers, doctors,…Continue Reading

Supreme Court . . . Denies Appeal Against Kentucky Ultrasound Law

December 20, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Supreme Court . . . Denies Appeal Against Kentucky Ultrasound Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA) — Kentucky’s ultrasound requirement for abortions survived an appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday, December 9 as the justices declined to take up a challenge to the law. Kentucky’s law, “The Ultrasound Informed Consent Act,” requires abortion doctors to present and describe an ultrasound image of an unborn child to a mother seeking an abortion, along with having to play audio of the baby’s heartbeat. Gov. Matt Bevin (R), who recently lost his bid for re-election, signed the bill into law. Under the legislation, the mother would have the option of refusing to look at the ultrasound image and requesting that the audio of the baby’s heartbeat be muted. In April, the Sixth Circuit Court of…Continue Reading

An Open Letter To The Most Rev. Bishop Schneider… Did Vatican II Implicitly Justify “Pachamama” Idolatry?

December 19, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on An Open Letter To The Most Rev. Bishop Schneider… Did Vatican II Implicitly Justify “Pachamama” Idolatry?

  By FR. BRIAN W. HARRISON, OS You may not remember me now, but I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting you and chatting with you at dinner at the conference in Monterey, Calif., in February 2018, hosted by The Latin Mass magazine. Your Excellency and I were both speakers at the conference. Along with innumerable members of the Catholic clergy and faithful, I am deeply grateful for, and appreciative of, the courageous leadership you have been showing at a time when the vast majority of Successors of the Apostles are remaining deplorably silent about the confused and chaotic state of the Church today, which grows daily more critical during the present pontificate. However, I confess to being troubled,…Continue Reading