Reflections on Faith, Feasts, and Film

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...

  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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

By Father Scott Archer January 22, 2023 “Be not overcome by evil” (Rom. 12:21). Christ came to our world that we might not be overcome by evil but freed from our slavery to sin. By His Cross He destroyed the power the devil, the flesh, and the world have over us because sanctifying grace makes us holy and pleasing to God. Of the many evils we face in the world, perhaps the gravest is the unjust killing of the most innocent; that is, the unborn. Many speak of the rights of individuals or groups of people; however, if we are to have any genuine rights at all, the fundamental human right to life must be upheld by society. The life of infants in the womb is central to an authentic respect for human dignity because these innocents have no voice but those who seek to protect them. Those advocating the opposite position will raise objections and argue about when life begins, the circumstances of conception, and the life of the mother. First, science is quite clear when life begins. A ne...

By Father Scott Archer November 6, 2022 “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt. 22:21). Father John Hunwicke recently wrote about the spirit of the age and the attempt to to set up a rival to Christ the King. One of the greatest threats to our living as authentic Christians is the temptation to conform to the spirit of the age, the spirit of the world, and it has deceived many Christians into thinking life would be better and the world more accepting of them if they compromised with sin. This has been a temptation since the very beginning. Christians were once required to worship the Roman emperor as a god and to offer a pinch of incense before his image. If they did so, they would live, if not, they would be killed. How easy it seemed, and many compromised. St. Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, did not. He said, “Eighty and six years I have served Him and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Sa...

By Father Scott Archer August 7, 2022 "Let no temptation take hold on you” (1 Cor. 10:13). Faith in God and the truths of our Catholic religion are the foundation of a life of virtue. Without relying on God, man increasingly depends on himself, which is the surest path to spiritual ruin. In J.K. Rowling’s novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , one of the professors tells the students they need to know of the dangers in the world and the evil which awaits them outside the walls of the school so they will be prepared. “Constant vigilance!” he exhorts them. The same is true for our spiritual lives. If we realize the dangers posed by the world, the devil, and the flesh, we will defend ourselves with reliance on faith and the grace of God to make acts of the will for the good of our souls and guard against anything which poses a threat to eternal salvation. An example of an individual who is not assiduous is one who is confident in their own ability to avoid sin based on ...

Pictured (left to right): Sr. M. Loretto, Sr. M. Aquinas, and Mother M. Pauline. By Father Scott Archer May 12, 2022 Eulalia Rose Freehill was born in Strawn, Illinois on March 7, 1906, the daughter of James Francis Freehill and Mary Ryan. She was Baptized by Father James Francis at the rectory of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fairbury, Illinois on March 10, 1906. Her sponsors were Austin and Mary McGreal. She received her first Communion at St. Rose in Strawn, 1913, and was Confirmed at St. Rose on September 23, 1917, by Bishop Edmund Dunne, Bishop of Peoria. Eulalia spent her youth on the family farm in Strawn with her parents, brothers, and sisters. She brought many happy memories with her when she journeyed off to attend the boarding school run by the Visitation nuns in Rock Island, Illinois. While still a high school junior at the monastery school, she entered the postulancy of the Congregation of the Visitation of Holy Mary at the Villa de Chantal in Rock Island on June 8, 1...

  By Father Scott Archer December 26, 2021 The prose interlude of T.S. Eliot’s verse drama, Murder in the Cathedral , is a homily given by the character Saint Thomas Becket on Christmas day, 1170, four days before his martyrdom. He preaches, “Not only do we at the feast of Christmas celebrate at once Our Lord’s Birth and His Death, but on the next day we celebrate the martyrdom of His first martyr, the blessed Stephen. Is it an accident, do you think, that the day of the first martyr follows immediately the day of the Birth of Christ? By no means. Just as we rejoice and mourn at once, in the Birth and Passion of Our Lord; so also, in a smaller figure, we both rejoice and mourn in the death of martyrs. We mourn, for the sins of the world that has martyred them; we rejoice, that another soul is numbered among the Saints in Heaven, for the glory of God and for the salvation of men.” In the Mass of Christmas, we have the crib, the cross, and the crown united in one unique celebrati...

By Father Scott Archer July 4, 2021 “I have compassion on the multitude” (Mark 8:2). Loyalty, freedom, revolution, and patriotism were just some of the moral issues facing our forefathers during the conflicts leading to the Declaration of Independence. These were issues which tore families and communities apart. Benjamin Franklin's own son, William, was a Loyalist and the royal governor of New Jersey, causing his father to disinherit him. In my own family, there were both Loyalists and Patriots. My fifth great-grandfather, Isaac Cornwell, was a Patriot and served in Captain Butler's Company of Major Sheldon's Light Horse Regiment during the Revolutionary War. His brother, Captain Jacob Cornwell, was a Loyalist. Jacob took refuge in Canada and was granted 350 acres in Nova Scotia by the Crown. The two brothers never saw each other again. The central question is the morality of rebellion against one's rightful sovereign. Catholicism teaches the need of remaining obedi...

By Father Scott Archer December 23, 2020 Cathedral of St. Mary, Peoria, Illinois Saint John Vianney said, “The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself; he is for you. After God, the priest is everything.” These words from the patron saint of parish priests were at the core of what made Monsignor Soseman the priest he was; that is, a priest not for himself but for others and grounded in the knowledge that he was forever configured to the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ. I met Richard when I was studying theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and he entered as a pre-theologian. I was struck by his intelligence, kindness, and generosity. He was incredibly resolute in his desire to be a priest, and to my knowledge, he never doubted his vocation. With his approaching ordination, Richard asked me to preach his first Mass, which I gladly accepted, and with his death, I was humbled to l...

Compiled by Father Scott Archer  October 27, 2020 Catholics often ask about the propriety of celebrating Halloween. The truth is that the origins of Halloween are rooted in the theology, liturgy, and popular customs of Catholics. It is said that the ancient Celts celebrated a major feast on October 31 and that Halloween’s origins lie in this pagan practice. However, the Celts celebrated a festival on the last day of almost every month – there was nothing particularly special about the last day of October. The word Halloween is a contraction of the name for the Vigil of All Hallows Eve; that is, Hallow-E’en. It falls on October 31 not to appease Celtic pagans but because the Feast of All Saints (All Hallows) falls on November 1. The feast of All Saints was originally celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III, in 731, moved it to November 1, the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter's in Rome. This feast spread throughout the world. In 998, St. Odilo, the abbot of Cluny...

By Father Scott Archer  October 25, 2020 “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18: 36). We love God because He first loved us, and our love of neighbor is based in our love of Him, enabling us to do extraordinary things for God. This is what makes our love of neighbor meritorious and true charity. Christ showed the depths of His love by giving His life on the throne of His cross for our redemption. By shedding His blood, He saved us from the power of sin and death; that is, the power sin has over us and the eternal death of hell. In His death Christ showed us the path to sacrificial love. This type of love has caused many to give up their lives, as in the case of the holy martyrs of the Church. A martyr is one who is killed for the faith and who willingly dies for Christ and the Catholic faith. Saint Catherine of Siena states, “The martyrs desired death, not to fly labor, but to attain their end. And why did they not fear death, from which man so naturally shrinks? Because ...

  Review by Father Scott Archer August 29, 2020 Directed by Marco Pontecorvo, Fatima is a fictionalized retelling of real-life Lucia de Santos and her two younger cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who received visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary between May 13 and October 13, 1917. The story unfolds via several flashbacks as Professor Nichols (Harvey Keitel) interviews Sister Lucia (Sônia Braga) in 1989 in the Carmel of Coimbra as he conducts final research for a book. Thankfully, these scenes are few as they distract from the keen depiction of the children’s experiences in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Through the apparitions, Our Lady gives the children messages for the people, secrets for the children, themselves, visions, and the climactic Miracle of the Sun, which was witnessed by 70,000 people. Fatima depicts the events faithfully with little in the way of artistic license. Fortunately, this means fictionalized melodrama is not part of the story. Unfortunately, what shou...

By Father Scott Archer July 1, 2020 The story of Saint Junípero Serra begins in the 18 th century on the island of Mallorca off the eastern coast of Spain. He was the son of Antonio Serra, a farmer, and Margarita Ferrer. Born on November 24, 1713, in the village of Petra, at baptism he was given the name Miguel José . At the age of sixteen, he went to Palma, the capital of Mallorca, and applied for admission into the Franciscan Order. He was very short, and the provincial took him to be much younger than he was, so he was refused admission. He was admitted after his tutor and some Franciscans spoke up for him, and he received the gray habit of the Observant Friars Minor. At profession they were allowed to replace their baptismal name, and Miguel José became Junípero. There was one desire that burned in the heart of Fray Junípero above all others; to become a missionary in order to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and baptize the pagans of the New World. On August ...