Volume XXI: August 2018 to July 2019

Father Richard Bradford and the Congregation of Saint Athanasius have published Contra Mundum, our parish paper, monthly since 1998 to provide religious instruction and news of the congregation.

Issue 1. August 2018:

  • “Pax Tecum,” an article by the Revd Deacon Michael J. Connolly
  • “On Salvation,” excerpt from the Declaration Dominus Iesus by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger published by the CDF on August 6, 2000
  • “How Things Work in the Kingdom,” a sermon preached by Father Bradford in St Theresa of Ávila Church, August 17, 2011
  • “Trained to Detect a Person,” an article by the Revd Albert J. Byrne from the parish bulletin of The Cathedral of St Catherine of Siena, Allentown, PA
  • “Dwelling in the Loftiest Citadel of Virtue,” an excerpt from a sermon on the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Amadeus of Lausanne (1110-59)
  • “Recognizing Jesus” by St Basil (c.329-379), one of the Four Greek Doctors of the Church
  • “A Prayer” from St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Rd. London
  • “From a Bible Given to World War II Servicemen,” an inscription by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States

Issue 2. September 2018:

  • “The Most Splendid Thing in the World,” an article by Fr Richard Bradford
  • “The Great Desire of Love is Toward Eternity,” a sermon preached by Father Bradford
  • “The Power of Prayer, Penance, and Sacrifice,” an article by the Provost from The Oratory Parish Magazine of the Brampton (London) Oratory
  • “On the Love of Christ” by St Alphonsus Ligouri, a Doctor of the Church
  • “Our Lady’s Nativitye,” a poem by St Robert Southwell, a Jesuit priest and martyr
  • “Rules To Live By,” an article about Chris Pratt by Robert Steiner
  • “How It All Began, Part II” by Father Bradford
  • “Some Things Never Change” by New York Times columnist Christopher F. Schuetze

Issue 3. October 2018:

  • “Treating the Whole Affair Lightly” by Father Bradford
  • “Protecting the Young from Evil” by Saint Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) whose pioneering work was a model for St John Bosco and the Salesian schools
  • “Practice What You Believe,” an excerpt from a sermon by Dr. James DeKoven, an Anglican priest and educator
  • “Contemplating the Mysteries of Salvation,” an excerpt of a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux, a French abbot and major leader in the reform of Benedictine monasticism
  • “Dismal Little Germs” by the Provost from the The Oratory Parish Magazine, the parish paper of the Brompton (London) Oratory.

Issue 4. November 2018:

  • “For Departed Souls,” an article by the Provost in the November, 2012 issue of The Oratory, the parish paper of the Brampton (London) Oratory
  • “Why Go to Funerals?,” an article from the parish paper of The Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal) in East Chicago, Indiana
  • “The Prayers of the Saints,” a sermon preached by Father Bradford in St Theresa of Ávila Church on April 6, 2006
  • “The Guy Whose Name Is on the Door,” an opinion piece by Alex Beam, a regular columnist in The Boston Globe, on October 8, 2018
  • “Development of Doctrine” by Saint Vincent of Lerins who wrote his Commonitorium c. 434 as guidance on orthodox teaching of the faith
  • “Exit from Islam,” an editorial in the April 6, 2018 edition of the Catholic Herald Magazine
  • “Perspectives on Adoption,” an excerpt from an article in the Summer 2018 magazine of Massachusetts Citizens for Life

ISSUE 5. DECEMBER 2018:

  • “The Old Story Made New,” a sermon preached by Father Bradford on Advent Sunday
  • “Inclusion in Mary’s Grace”  by Father Romanus Cessario, OP,  a Dominican priest and professor of systematic theology in St John’s Seminary
  • “Weaving the Fabric of His Designs” by Jacques Benigne Bossuet, a French preacher and bishop, among the greatest preachers of all time
  • “Both Sides Are True,” an excerpt by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson from his Confessions of a Convert
  • “The Perfect Place for Adventures” by Dr Regis Martin, professor of dogmatic and systematic theology in Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio
  • “Humanae Vitae” by Fr Peter M.J. Stravinskas, widely known as an educator, writer, and preacher
  • “Where am I in all this” by Melinda Knight, a frequent contributor to Magnificat magazine
  • “To restore the presence of Christ,” an excerpt by Servant of God, Chiara Lubich, from Christmas Joy: Spiritual Insights

Issue 6. January 2019:

  • “Before the Miracle,” a sermon by Father Bradford
  • “Latecomers to the Faith,” an article from The Oratory Parish Magazine, the parish paper of the London (Brompton) Oratory
  • “Offering Envelopes – Why and How,” a letter from the Finance Committee
  • “The Name of Jesus,” an excerpt from the treatise, Against Heresies, by Saint lrenaeus
  • “Invoking the Holy Name,” an excerpt from Prayer for Beginners, by parishioner Peter Kreeft
  • “Charitable Giving,” a list of recommended charities from Father Bradford
  • “He Has Said Everything in Christ,” an excerpt from a treatise on The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St John of the Cross
  • “Protocol on Receiving Communion” by Father Bradford
  • “Preaching Goes Ahead,” an article from a homily on the gospels by Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Issue 7. February 2019:

  • “For Those Who Suffer on Account of the Cross of Christ” by John Pontifex, press officer for Aid to the Church in Need
  • “Why Are We Here?,”  a sermon preached by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, at the Mass of the Vigil for Life, January 18, 2018
  • “You Have to Have Peter” by Pope Leo the Great
  • “A Mutual Relationship,” an excerpt from School for Prayer by Archbishop Anthony Bloom
  • “The Love of God for Souls,” a sermon preached by Father Bradford
  • “Goodness Gives Itself Away” by Bishop Robert Barron
  • “The issue Does Not Go Away,” an article by Monsignor William M. Helmick

ISSUE 8. MARCH 2019:

  • “The Only-begotten Son of God” by The Revd Deacon Michael J. Connolly, Archdeacon in the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the United States and Canada and assistant professor of linguistics in Boston College. He often assists at our Mass.
  • “To Keep a True Lent,” a poem by Robert Herrick, a 17th century English poet and clergyman.
  • “Thinking of His Mother,” a sermon preached by Fr Bradford.
  • “How Shall We Repay the Lord?” by St Basil the Great, bishop, theologian of distinction, monastic founder, and one of the Four Greek Doctors of the Church.
  • “The True Vision of Things,” a sermon by Fr Joseph F Wilson, priest of he Diocese of Brooklyn and a long-time friend of our congregation.

Issue 9. April 2019:

  • “We Know Him Who Teaches It,” a sermon Father Bradford preached on Passion Sunday
  • “The Night He Was Betrayed” by Father Romanus Cessario, O.P.
  • “The Third Height of Perfection” by St Catherine of Siena
  • “The Rotten Fruit of Secularization” by Gerhard Cardinal Müeller
  • “Nationhood as a Gift from God” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
  • “Priestly Vocation” by Pope Benedict XVI
  • “No Salvation Except in the Cross” by Saint Francis de Sales
  • “Protecting the Right of Free Speech” from the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly

Issue 10. May 2019:

  • “Through Their Word,” a sermon preached by Fr Bradford
  • “What Path Are We To Take,” an excerpt from an Easter sermon by St Athanasius
  • “Mary’s Month”
  • “The Visible Invisible,” an excerpt from Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel
  • “Blessed Mary the Poet” by Anthony Esolen
  • “Keeping the Joyful Festival” from a sermon on Good Shepherd Sunday by St Gregory the Great
  • “The Opportunity to Repent,” an excerpt from Pope Saint Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians
  • “Saint Philip Saw the Father” from Origen”s Against Celsus
  • “Posture in Prayer,” an excerpt by Saint Bernardino

ISSUE 11. JUNE 2019:

  • “June is the Month of the Sacred Heart,” an extract from The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the Revd H. Noldin, S.J. in 1883 and published in the June, 2016 issue of The Oratory Parish Magazine, the parish paper of the Brompton (London) Oratory
  • “The Ratzinger Diagnosis,” an article by George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and published in the April 26, 2019 edition of The Pilot
  • “The Preciousness of the Sacrifice,” a sermon preached by Father Bradford in St Theresa of Ávila Church on May 9, 2019
  • “Whom the Gods Would Destroy They First Make Mad,” an article by Fr Bradford reflecting on an editorial by Abigail Shrier in the May 3, 2019 edition of the Wall Street Journal
  • “The Fear of the Lord,” an extract from his expositions of the Psalms by Saint Hilary (c.310-c.367), Bishop of Poitiers; Hilary is a Doctor of the Church and sometimes called the “Athanasius of the West”

Issue 12. JULY 2019:

  • “The Elixir” by The Revd Deacon Michael J. Connolly, an Archdeacon in the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg, who also teaches linguistics in Boston College and assists frequently at our Masses
  • “Inside China’s War on Christians,” an article from The Wall Street Journal by Nina Shea, a fellow at the Hudson Institute and Bob Fu, a pastor and founder of ChinaAid.
  • “The Act of Forgiveness,” an article by the Provost from The Oratory Parish Magazine, a publication of the Brompton (London) Oratory.
  • “Using the Name of the Lord,” a sermon by Father Bradford
  • “American Values,” an article by Joe Fitzgerald in the Boston Herald

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