Four years ago, I refused to vote for Donald Trump. Four years later, I refuse not to. — I know this makes me a minority and persona non grata on Medium, but next Tuesday, November 3, 2020, I will be voting for Donald J. Trump as president of the United States of America. However, before you brand me as a “racist”, “fascist”, white-nationalist, backwards-thinking, patriarchal, unwoke monster, hear…

Book Review: “Because of Our Fathers: Twenty-Three Catholics Tell How Their Fathers Led Them to Christ”. Tyler Rowley. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2020. 206 pp. $16.95. — One morning several weeks ago, I received the exciting news that I am going to be (and technically already am) a father. This was something my wife and I had planned and hoped for, so I cannot say it came as a surprise. Still, there was a sense of nervousness…

Book Review: Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright: The Genius & Timeliness of the Traditional Latin Mass. Peter Kwasniewski. Brooklyn, NY: Angelico Press. 2020. 388 pp. $19.95. As someone who absolutely hates the summer months for their heat and humidity, reading (indoors) was always a cool, relaxing escape from the blaring…

A critical glimpse inside the latest viral (and counterfeit) religious movement — As you may remember from your high school U.S. History course, the “Great Awakening” was a period of revival within American Christianity, beginning in the 1730’s. At the time, the Enlightenment’s influence on religion started to wear out its welcome. Congregationalist and Episcopalian religious leaders noticed how their congregants were…

How is it possible for bishops & priests to respect the bodies of the faithful, when some of them do not even respect the Body of the Lord? — It would not be an overstatement to say that 2018 was quite the rough year for the Catholic Church. Of course, as with any massive global organization, tensions typically run high. Pope Francis, suggested by some reporters that he will “enter history as the one who split the Catholic Church,”…

Book Review: Tradition and Sanity: Conversations & Dialogues of a Postconciliar Exile, Peter A. Kwasniewski, Angelico Press, 232 pages, $17.95. — We live in an age littered with labels. Some of these labels are ways to describe one’s political views: conservative, liberal, moderate. Other labels may describe one’s generation: “Baby Boomer”, “Gen-X”, “Millennials”, and even the most recent one — “post-millennial”. Labels extend to just about every facet of life, even…

There is nothing “progressive” about a society which legalizes the murder of the unborn — Outside the walls of Jerusalem, southwest of the ancient city, lies a small valley. Since the 7th-century B.C., this valley was called Gei Ben-Hinnom; in Hebrew, meaning “Valley of the Son of Hinnom,” and, by the 1st-century A.D., was commonly known in the Aramaic language as Gēhannā. Today, the valley…

What the Internet’s reaction to a misleading video clip reveals about our society in 2019 — I had a relatively quiet weekend. This past week, I started up my final semester of my current graduate program. After a relaxing Christmas break, I returned to the daily grind — classes, research, writing, and some Xbox. I was able to sleep in late on Saturday morning, and upon…

Your Eminence, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, It is with a spirit of faith, hope, and love that I write this letter to you, the shepherd of all Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston. During his apostolic journey to the United States, our Holy Father Pope Francis exhorted you and…