Fr. William Rock, FSSP
Fr. William Rock, FSSP is a priest and writer of the Fraternity of St. Peter. He is also a veteran of the US Air Force. Currently he is serving at Regina Caeli parish in Houston, Texas.
Growing in Sanctifying Grace
In a previous article, the Infused Virtues, the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, and the supernatural acts of one who possessed them were discussed. At the conclusion, it was stated that it is not just a question of possessing or not possessing the Virtues and the Gifts, but also of how strong they are, for…
The Virtues and the Gifts: Supernatural Actions
In a previous article, it was stated that Sanctifying Grace provides the necessary equality between the sanctified man and God for the existence of friendship between them. Not an absolute equality, of course, as there can never be a total equality between the Uncreated and the creature, but enough for the establishment of friendship. And while…
Returning Another Way
The word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek “ἐπιφάνεια,” [epipháneia] which means “manifestation,” and the Feast of the Epiphany, kept on January 6th, the 13th Day of Christmas, commemorates three manifestations of Christ: the visitation of the Magi from the East, Our Lord’s Baptism, and Our Lord’s first miracle of turning water into wine at the…
Inequality in Friendship
In a previous article, it was stated that just as there is an analogy between the natural life of man and the supernatural life of grace, there is an analogy between the development of human friendship and the friendship between the soul and God. However, in his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle, the Philosopher, notes that “if…
“All Hallows’ Eve” is a Catholic Day
Halloween is rightly and properly a Catholic day. While this has been obscured and denied, Catholics should reclaim what is properly theirs. One of the ways this can be done is by practicing the virtues which their forefathers in the faith practiced on this day, namely the virtues of penance, generosity or liberality, and eutrapelia,…
Consuming Much Salt
In a previous article in TAN Direction, it was stated that just as there is an analogy between the natural life of man and the supernatural life of grace, there is an analogy between the development of human friendship and friendship between the soul and God. This being the case, a study of human friendship…
Knowledge of God and Friendship
The following is the beginning of a series by the author. In a friendship, having correct knowledge of one’s friend is necessary and foundational. For example, let’s say that one has a friend and holds that this friend lives in Houston, works at an aquarium, is unmarried, and graduated from Miami University while in reality…
The Holy Eucharist – Past, Present, and Future
In the Magnificat Antiphon for Second Vespers of the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Church sings “O sacrum convívium, in quo Christus súmitur: recólitur memória passiónis eius: mens implétur grátia: et futúræ glóriæ nobis pignus datur, allelúia. / O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed, the mind…
Effects of Holy Communion
There is a correspondence between the natural uses of the matter of the Sacraments and at least some of the effects they produce. For example, an effect of Baptism is that one is born again as an adopted child of God. When one is born naturally, one is wet. When one is born again supernaturally,…
Proper Dispositions of the Reception of Holy Communion
As is the case with each of the Sacraments, the fruitful reception of Holy Communion brings about in the recipient an increase of Sanctifying Grace, the Infused Virtues, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. But the degree of growth in each of the recipients will be proportional to one’s disposition. The minimum required disposition…
When Christ Our Pasch was Sacrificed
“When Christ our Pasch was sacrificed” – Over the course of the 40 days of Eastertide, this phrase will recur again and again during Mass when the Easter Preface is prayed. These words cannot but draw us back to the Epistle read on Easter Sunday from St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (5:7-8) which…