Free Republic

A Conservative Case against Capitalism and Industrialism The purpose of this paper will be a critique of capitalism and industrialization which I would call capitalism’s natural offspring. The very nature of this critique will come from a profoundly Catholic and Conservative perspective. Most people who have criticized capitalism and industrialism have often done so from a left-liberal political perspective and outlook. This can be seen from the writings of individuals such as Marx and Engel, as well as from ideas such as Socialism, Communism, and various other modern liberal ideologies. However in presenting this conservative critique of capitalism and industrialism...

  Why Did Christ Descent Into Hell?This is an article that I actually meant to write in Holy Saturday but was never able to. However various people have been asking me this question of why Christ descended into hell such as we recite in the Apostles’ Creed. For this reason I will address this doctrinal matter and describe it as best as I can, and at the same time help refute some theological errors that usually come up with this doctrinal aspect.What is Hell?I think that the best way to start this article is by explaining what hell means and...

Papal Efforts against Slavery:How the popes combated slaveryIntroduction There has not been an institution that has done more for the abolition of slavery as we know it than the Catholic Church. This is specifically true in regards to the constant efforts and admonitions against what is known today as chattel slavery, the unjust form of servitude which has existed ever since the time of the Age of Exploration, and which Pope Pius III once called a slavery “never before heard of.”1 Ever since the Early Church, the Catholic Church has done a great deal for the cause for human dignity,...

Alejandro Monteverde and Eduardo Verastegui have produced and directed another great Catholic and family centered movie. This movie should be watched and enjoyed by all families. Little Boy is a movie about Pepper Flynt Busbee "Little Boy" (Jakob Salvati) who is often harassed and bullied by most of his peers, and which the whole town is soon harassing as well, based on his petite nature. It is only his father, James Busbee (Michael Rapaport) who is his only real companion and friend. James Busbee is however soon drafted to the military to fight in the Second World War, as London...

Countercultural Christianity and the need of the supernaturalNot too long ago I had the pleasure to read a series of three articles that grabbed my attention, and which allowed me to formulate a series of thoughts regarding the need of what is known as “Countercultural Christianity” and furthermore of making Christianity “strange” again. All of this simply implies the need of bringing back the supernatural elements of Christianity.Two articles that I read on these specific subjects were both written by Rod Dreher a senior editor for The American Conservative. The first article is called Christian and Countercultural and the second...

The veiling and covering of statues during the last part of Lent is something that Strikes many people the first time that they see it. It is something that definitely struck me as well when I first saw this liturgical practice. Lately many people have been asking me about the practice, such as where did it originate, is it a traditional practice, what is the significance and many other things.It is my understanding that the Bishops’ Conference decides whether this practice will be used as the norm or not. Here in the United States it is my understanding that it...

Refuting the Belief that the Catholic Church ever supported the notion of the Divine Right of KingsI this article I will help to refute the false belief that the Catholic Church ever supported the so called “Divine Right” of kings. I will show that the concept of “Divine Right” is actually not a Catholic and for most part a medieval concept, but rather a concept which derived from the Late medieval ages, and which found its way into complete acceptance in the Protestant Reformation. Similarly I will show that to much extent the Catholic Church actually helped develop much of...

How the Medieval Ages paved the way for modern scienceScientific Development in the Medieval AgesNow we get into the medieval foundation of modern scientific thought. Contrary to common opinion, science was not “suppressed” as is the common understanding of this time period. Modern scholarship has brought about the reality that contrary to the common opinion, the Middle Ages actually is actually the root of modern scientific thought.Some of the most compelling arguments came from the medieval times. For example prior to the start of Christianity, and definitely from the time of the Middle Ages, there was a popular scientific consensus...

A Reassessment of the Medieval TimesThe Medieval era is perhaps one, if not the most misunderstood times in history. Ask people what they know of the medieval times, and most will tell you that they were a time of mere superstition, rampant barbarism and wars, oppression of women and minorities, scientific ignorance, totalitarianism, and a host of many other things.Nothing could be further from the truth, not in an era were reasonable thinking with scholasticism and Thomism were present, or the development of education, including that of the university system. An era were scientific development was starting out, and were...

The foundation of Education and the University during the Middle AgesAnti Catholic HistoryIt is the main point of this section to point out some of the contributions which the Catholic Church made specifically in regards to education and the University in the Middle Ages. Before I start this section I think it would be good to point out two simple facts regarding this time period. The first one is simply the fact that much of the history regarding this time period (at least until recent scholarship) was vehemently anti-Catholic which Hilaire Belloc points out in his book Europe and the...

Ad Orientem and why we should go back to it  Ad Orientem is a liturgical orientation done by the priest since the Early Christian Church. It has held a historical and traditional way in which priests would celebrate Mass in the Roman Rite. This liturgical position and action are still celebrated in the Tridentine Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form), as well as in the Dominican and Norbertine Rites, as well as several others. It has however sadly lost practice and has been abandoned in most of the Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form)This article will help explain the historical, and theological significance, its...

The Orans Position and holding hands during the Our Father[caption id="attachment_1144" align="alignnone" width="300"] Dominican Orans position at the Unde et Memores[/caption] Most people who attend a Novus Ordo parish or who simply attend Mass in what is known as the Ordinary Form (which most people attend) encounter two specific types of hand gestures that many of the laity engage in. The first type of hand gesture is that which is known as the "Orans Position" (praying with elevated hands). This type of gesture can be seen in several parts of the Mass such as when one of the laity elevates...

We at Walking In The Desert would like to let our readers know about a documentary that a friend and I are working on. This is our first documentary but we hope that this documentary will be a success and will promote the usage of the Tridentine Mass (Extraordinary Form) A friend and I are in the process to create a documentary that will promote the usage of the Latin Mass. We want to be able to do a video documentary that will interview priests and lay people who attend or celebrate the Latin Mass. We want to ask them...

There has not been in recent years a documentary getting as much negative feedback and comments than that of the Principle. Now there is nothing entirely wrong with this (We have freedom of speech). However the problem comes in the fact that most of these comments and movie reviews have been mere character attacks against the producers of the movie, or they have been made by either people who have admitted to not having even watched the movie, and lastly by people that although they have seen it, have done so in a way that is completely biased and quite...

I have written the New Year’s resolutions which I am planning on accomplishing. Daily MassI definitely plan on accomplishing this New Year’s resolution as faithfully as I can. There are many days which make going to Daily Mass exhausting such as College, studying, and other personal obligations, nevertheless this is something that I am definitely adding in my New Year’s resolution. Many people fail to realize the abundant graces which come from attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and that includes attending Mass Daily. For those interested Fr Chad Ripperger gives very good insights in both the nature of...

In its fight against crime and immorality, Russia has approved a law which will add harsh punishments (including chemical castration) to those convicted of pedophilia against children under 14 years of age. A news site (rtnews) states: The Russian parliament has approved a law on pedophilia in a first reading. From now on people found guilty of sex crimes against children under the age of 14 will face chemical castration, while repeat offenders face a life sentence. Furthermore this same news site states that the reason which the law has passed was because of a massive rise in those convicted...

The Church has always professed in what is known as the Four Last Things. This includes the eschatological realities of what are known as 1) Death 2) Judgment 3) Heaven and 4) Hell. Many Saints have always stated that we ought to constantly meditate on these 4 realities, in order to prepare for a Holy Death. 1) Because of original sin, we live in a fallen nature, in which death is one of the consequences of this. This means that death is unavoidable and we will all have to embrace it. The proper Christian way of doing so, is by...

This is a refutation regarding some anti-Catholic statements that were made in a history class that I attend. The history class is based on ancient civilizations to the 16th century. The professor originally stated that the reason that the Catholic Mass used to be completely in Latin was because the Church did not want the people to understand what was going on, since the Church wanted to oppress the people. I refute this argument in my first response. In this response I describe the use of Latin in the Catholic Mass and why it continues to be used.The professor then...

The natural law requires sacrificeIn the first place it is to be seen that the Natural Law requires us to sacrifice. Saint Thomas states in the first place that there are three main types of laws. There is first and foremost human laws (positive laws), there is the Natural Law, and lastly there is the Divine and Eternal laws. It is precisely the Natural Law that we will focus in for this specific article. The natural law is basically the “structure which God creates in man so that he inclines man to specific types of actions. He designs man to...

As many might sadly know the militant Satanists (most of whom are actually Atheist) but who nevertheless literally invoke Satan the prince of evil, are hosting a Black Mass on Oklahoma City's Civic center. There is word that a stolen consecrated host will be used at this event. The event will take place on September 21, 2014. The event is hosted by Dakhma of Angra Mainyu. Most of us remember not too long ago the Satanic Black Mass which was to be held on Harvard University. It is through the prayers, actions and zeal of Catholic and Christian faithful which...