Novus Ordo Jesuit College Holy Cross Goes Full Blown Pacifist

Novus Ordo Jesuit College Holy Cross Goes Full Blown Pacifist

By:  Eric Gajewski

“Iggy” the Crusader has been sent into early retirement

A month after announcing it would continue to use the Crusader moniker, the College of the Holy Cross in in Worcester, Massachusetts, now says it will no longer use the image of a knight to represent the school (see whole article here). I know what you are thinking to yourself.  A Jesuit college?  I know, shocker!  For fear of sparking another religious war (sarcasm) the Novus Ordo College Holy Cross will send “Iggy” the Crusader into early retirement.  No word yet if Holy Cross will decide to drop the Cross in their emblem yet as well (more sarcasm).   

Crusader Art....

Crusader Art....

LATEST REAL CRUSADE VIDEOS WITHIN!

COMMENTING AVAILABLE AFTER EACH ARTICLE ON THE WEBSITE, SEE YOU THERE

The scarcity of artwork dating from the crusader period found in the Holy Land today does not reflect — as some commentators suggest — a lack of artistic accomplishment or interest in the arts on the part of the elites in the crusader kingdoms. Rather is it the result of the the ravages of war and time, combined with systematic destruction and theft of crusader art by the Muslim conquerors of the Christian kingdoms. Today I provide a very quick overview of some of the artistic achievements of the crusader era.

POEM: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER

POEM: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER

BY: ERIC GAJEWSKI

Moreover, Christians are born for combat, whereof the greater the vehemence, the more assured, God willing, the triumph: ‘Have confidence; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33) –Pope Leo XIII

PLEASE ENJOY MY LATEST POEM FROM THE WORK, "FORTRESS OF THE SOUL" 

Leo XIII: Fight or Flight?

Leo XIII: Fight or Flight?

A timely excerpt from the encyclical Sapientiae Christianae

14. But in this same matter, touching Christian faith, there are other duties whose exact and religious observance, necessary at all times in the interests of eternal salvation, become more especially so in these our days. Amid such reckless and widespread folly of opinion, it is, as We have said, the office of the Church to undertake the defense of truth and uproot errors from the mind, and this charge has to be at all times sacredly observed by her, seeing that the honor of God and the salvation of men are confided to her keeping. 

The 21st century knight must be more vigilant than the Templars

The 21st century knight must be more vigilant than the Templars

SOURCE

Templars at the Battle of Hattin

One may ask, but is this superior to the crusaders?
There is no comparison. The crusaders are admirable. But part of the decadence of the Order of Templars came from the fact that in the intervals of their wars with the Moors, these would invite them to their city to see the luxury they had there: carpets, cushions, marbles etc., how beautiful all that was.

Medical Practitioners in the Crusader Era

Medical Practitioners in the Crusader Era 

Dr. Helena Schrader 

Included in this blog: (VIDEO)Was Christian Europe Threatened by Islam at the Time of the First Crusade?

It is often assumed that the people who practiced medicine in the Middle Ages were ignorant, untrained, guided by “pure superstition” and accountable to no one. In today’s post, the second in a series of guest essays by German scholar Fermin Person, we look at medical practitioners and standards in the Crusader States.

Bl. Angelo Carletti di Chivasso: Crusader in every sense of the word

Bl. Angelo Carletti di Chivasso: Crusader in every sense of the word

SOURCE

Moral theologian of the order of Friars Minor; born at Chivasso in Piedmont, in 1411; and died at Coni, in Piedmont, in 1495.

From his tenderest years the Blessed Angelo was remarkable for the holiness and purity of his life. He attended the University of Bologna, where he received the degree of Doctor of Civil and Canon Law. It was probably at the age of thirty that he entered the Order of Friars Minor. His virtues and learning soon gained the confidence of his brethren in religion, and he was four times chosen to fill the office of vicar-general of that branch of the order then known as the Cismontane Observance.

Crusader Castles

Crusader Castles 

SOURCE

 

One of the most impressive and visible legacies of the crusader kingdoms were the castles erected by Latin rulers in their territories.

One of the best preserved crusader castles: Krak de Chevaliers

T.E. Lawrence, famous as “Lawrence of Arabia,” disparaged the crusader castles as irrelevant and ineffective because these fortifications ultimately proved incapable of preventing the fall of the crusader kingdoms. Yet this is too facile a judgment. In fact, the crusader castles enabled numerically small fighting forces to withstand repeated invasions by numerically vastly superior armies. Christian defeats in the first hundred years of the crusader kingdoms occurred almost exclusively in the open field, where Muslim leaders could bring their larger forces to bear, e.g. the Field of Blood (1119), Hattin, (1187). By contrast, when the crusaders retreated into their fortified cities or castles, forcing the Saracens to besiege them, they usually survived to fight another day. 

Crusader History: The Battle of Dorylaeum

The Battle of Dorylaeum 

Dr. Helena Schrader

Two weeks ago, in his first guest post, Rand Brown looked at the start of the First Crusade. Today he examines the first important battle of that military campaign.

"Barbarian" Crusaders? -- A Second Look

"Barbarian" Crusaders? -- A Second Look

SOURCE

Two weeks ago I laid out several of the popular misconceptions about the crusades and made a rebuttal. Today I want to look more closely at the persistent myth that the crusaders were "less civilized" than their Muslim opponents.

Crusader Cuisine

Crusader Cuisine

Dr. Helena Schrader

Since Ancient Greece, food has been more than just a means of refueling the human body and become a recognized pleasure. All cultures surround at least some meals with ritual and custom, particularly meals shared with strangers or guests. Most regions have distinct cooking traditions, and everywhere cooks are valued. Medieval Europe was no exception, and most readers will have heard of extravagant medieval feasts featuring game such as beavers and swans or spectacles such as pies full of live birds.

Ardent Crusader and Relucant King: Henri de Champagne

Ardent Crusader and Relucant King: Henri de Champagne

Dr. Helena Schrader

Henri of Champagne was one of the most ardent French crusaders to join the Third Crusade. His eagerness to take part in the crusade brought him to the Holy Land well ahead of either of his uncles, the Kings of France and England respectively. Despite his youth, his royal connections assured him a prominent role. Just how prominent, he never dreamed.
  

VARANGIAN GUARD: ELITE WARRIORS OF BYZANTIUM

Barry Jacobsen 

For nearly 500 years, the purple-clad emperors of Byzantium were guarded on the battlefield and in their porphyry palace by an axe-wielding body of fierce Viking warriors: The Varangian Guard!

The 10^th century was the zenith of the Viking Age. The warriors of Scandinavia, renowned for their ferocity, cunning, and fighting prowess were feared throughout Europe.

Crusader Spirit: Today the Sepulcher of Christ Is the Catholic Church

Crusader Spirit: Today the Sepulcher of Christ Is the Catholic Church

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

 Yesterday Jerusalem had external enemies, today, we must defend the Church from infiltrated enemies

If I adore Our Lord Jesus Christ, what should be my response when the Mohametans come and take the Sepulcher of Christ? After this affront, can I go to a parish festival, content and grinning broadly, without taking into consideration the Sepulcher of Christ was taken? Is this reasonable? Does it make sense? No, it does not.  

Crusader Spirit: True Love Is Proved by Dedication & Combativity

Crusader Spirit: True Love Is Proved by Dedication & Combativity

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

 

In a recent meeting, I had the occasion to affirm that the there is no Catholic spirit without the Crusader spirit. I was asked to develop this theme. This is what I will do here.

The question of the Crusader spirit is rooted in the very constitution of the human spirit and mentality.

The Crusader’s Defense of Orthodoxy

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Softness and sentimentalism constitute the opposite of the Crusader spirit. There are persons who have a thousand blunders in their head, as, for example, the notion that perhaps it is not good to be combative, but rather one should be amiable and kind. 

Crusader Spirit: True Love Is Proved by Dedication & Combativity

True Love Is Proved by
Dedication & Combativity

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

In a recent meeting, I had the occasion to affirm that the there is no Catholic spirit without the Crusader spirit. I was asked to develop this theme. This is what I will do here.

The question of the Crusader spirit is rooted in the very constitution of the human spirit and mentality. 

The Troubadours and The Decline of The Crusader Spirit

Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

An excessive ‘mellowing’ of customs led to a lack of appetite for war; this, along with a growing influence of sentimentality and the action of the ‘troubadours’ put an end to the crusading spirit.

King, Crusader, Saint: Saint Louis IX

King, Crusader, Saint: Saint Louis IX 

nobility.org

Videos included...

King of France, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, born at Poissy, 25 April, 1215; died near Tunis, 25 August, 1270.

What the Crusader had which the Cristero did not

Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Question: Was there a certain revival of the crusading spirit in the Cristero war?
No. I think there was a great religious dedication, one that was taken to a heroic degree, but not a revival of the spirit of Crusade.