Posts

Like Odysseus to the Mast

Image
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost | Fr. Scott Archer | August 2, 2026 “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Lk. 18:14). There are two ways of standing before God. One stands as though he possesses something to offer—as though righteousness were an achievement to be displayed, a record to be presented, a claim to be made. The other stands with empty hands, conscious not of his own merits but of his need. One measures himself and finds satisfaction; the other measures himself before God and asks only for mercy. This contrast reaches into every Christian life, because the great temptation is not always open rebellion against God. More often, it is subtle self-sufficiency. We begin to trust in what we have done, what we have avoided, what we know. The eager multitudes came to Our Lord with humble and teachable hearts. This is the pattern of the spiritual life: God does not despise our poverty; rather, through it He draws us into the fullness of His truth. The multitudes did ...
Read more

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Image
By Fr. Scott Archer July 5, 2026 “I have compassion upon the multitudes” (Mk. 8:2). I have been reflecting upon the recent events surrounding the consecration of new bishops by the Society of St. Pius X. It grieves me profoundly that they have chosen to take this drastic step into schism . Our Lord's compassion extends not only to those who hunger for bread, but also to those who wander from the unity He established in His Church. My love for the traditional Roman liturgy is neither recent nor superficial. I understand its beauty, its reverence, and the profound spiritual nourishment it has provided countless faithful throughout the centuries. Yet love for the traditional liturgy can never be separated from love for the Church that has faithfully preserved and handed it down. The sacred liturgy belongs to the Church; it is not the possession of any movement or society, however sincerely devoted they may believe themselves to be. One cannot preserve Catholic Tradition by sever...
Read more

The Barque of Peter and the Cost of Separation

Image
  Fr. Scott Archer  July 2, 2026 I have been reflecting with great sorrow upon the recent events surrounding the consecration of new bishops by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). It grieves me profoundly that they have chosen to take this drastic step into schism. It is not a moment for triumphalism, anger, or recrimination, but for mourning and earnest prayer. Every separation from the Mystical Body of Christ is a tragedy, for Our Blessed Lord prayed that His disciples might be one, and unity with the Successor of St. Peter has always been the visible bond of that communion. I cannot pretend to understand the mentality that would drive them to such a place. Precisely because I have offered the Tridentine Mass for more than twenty-eight years, my love for the traditional Roman liturgy is neither recent nor superficial. I understand its beauty, its reverence, its theological richness, and the profound spiritual nourishment it has provided countless faithful throughout the cent...
Read more

Easter (2026)

Image
By Fr. Scott Archer April 5, 2026 “He is risen” (Mk. 16:6). On that first Easter morning, the holy women came to the tomb of Our Lord. Mary Magdalen, Mary of Clopas, and the other women from Galilee had watched carefully where the body of Jesus had been laid. After His burial they returned to the city to prepare spices and ointments, intending to come again and anoint His sacred body. However, they first rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Meanwhile the chief priests, still filled with fear and malice, went to Pontius Pilate. They asked that the tomb be guarded, lest the disciples steal away the body and claim that Christ had risen. Pilate granted their request, and soldiers were placed at the tomb. Yet all of this could not prevent what God had decreed. Early on Sunday morning Mary Magdalen came to the tomb—perhaps even before the others had arrived—and she saw that the stone had already been rolled away. The body of Our Lord was gone. Without yet meeting the other wom...
Read more

Good Shepherd Sunday (1962 Missal)

Image
By Fr. Scott Archer April 14, 2024 “The good Shepherd giveth His life for His sheep” (Jn. 10:11). 112 years ago today, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic. One passenger aboard that fateful ship, one which Pope St. Pius X would call a martyr for the Church, was Father Thomas Byles. He was raised in a Protestant family in Yorkshire, England. Like his brother William, he eventually converted to the Catholic faith. He attended the Beda College in Rome and was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1902. His trip to America on the Titanic was prompted by the upcoming wedding of his brother William, at which he was asked to officiate. William had moved to New York to run a rubber business and fallen in love with Katherine Russell of Brooklyn. He was able to make arrangements with Captain Smith to offer Mass for the passengers since he had brought a portable altar stone and all accessories. On Sunday morning, April 14, 1912, Father Byles offered what would be his last...
Read more

Cabrini

Image
Review by Fr. Scott Archer March 8, 2024 Cabrini is an amazing addition to Catholic filmography. In the capable hands of director Alejandro Monteverde, who cowrote the screenplay with Rod Barr, it takes us on the journey of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini from her convent in Lombardy, where she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to her first foundations in New York. It is the story of how she overcame opposition from both ecclesiastical and civic authorities to establish her empire of hope. The stunning cinematography by Gorka Gómez Andreu brings the viewer into 19 th century New York in a way few cinematographers have done. Every frame is a work of art, inviting the audience into the dismal world of Catholic Italian immigrants. The tragedy of their plight, as well as the work of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, is underscored with authentic set decoration by Stephanie Q. Bown. The brilliant original score by Gene Back adds emotion to the urgency of her mission, p...
Read more

Quinquagesima Sunday

Image
By Father Scott Archer February 11, 2024 “And they understood none of those things…” (Lk 18:24). On February 11, 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, the eldest child of François and Louise Soubirous of Lourdes, France, was sent to gather firewood with her sister Toinette and their friend, Jean Abadie. Toinette and Jean had crossed the canal in front of the grotto of Massabielle, which connects to the river Gave, while Bernadette started removing her shoes and stockings to do the same. It was then that she heard a blast like a gust of wind. She looked toward the Gave and noticed the poplar trees were quite still. Hearing the sound again, she looked up to a dark niche in the grotto, where a light suddenly emanated and, in the light, stood a beautiful young Lady in a white dress, the bottom of which covered most of her bare feet, save for the tips, which were adorned with gold roses. She wore a long white veil, a blue sash was about her waist, and she held a rosary. The Lady smiled in welcome. Th...
Read more