Reflections on Faith, Feasts, and Film

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 ...

By Father Scott Archer, 1999 Uploaded to this blog on April 14, 2020 The  Titanic  has become a part of the collective consciousness of America and has been the subject of numerous books, movies, and even a hit Broadway musical. If the story of the  Titanic  had happened in former times it might have been the subject of Greek mythology, the story of man attempting to defy the gods and Poseidon lifting this great Leviathan out of the sea, breaking it in two, and plunging it and its' passengers to the ocean's floor. The sinking of the  Titanic  is not myth, however, but the tragic story of how over 1500 people lost their lives on a ship everyone believed to be unsinkable. This article concerns just one passenger aboard the  Titanic  on that fateful voyage; one which Saint Pius X would call a martyr for the Church. His name was Father Thomas Byles. Father Byles was born at Headingley, Leeds, Yorkshire on February 26, 1870, the eldest of ...