Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint,but blessed is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18) We're not cats, bats, or moray eels, as I pointed out in a recent post. "We humans are different. We are, again, unique among the world’s creatures. We’re not governed by instinct, we alone can make free choices about how … Continue reading The End Point of Progressive Christianity
Spiritual Warfare, the Chain of Command, and St. Equitius
"You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." -attributed to Leon Trotsky There's a battle raging, and we're all part of it, like it or not. The growing intensity of the Culture War that's engulfing our society is just a surface manifestation of the real war that's been underway since Satan … Continue reading Spiritual Warfare, the Chain of Command, and St. Equitius
We’re Living in the Age of Esau
In pursuit of an illusory freedom we have cut ourselves off from the experience of our ancestors (racist, rigid, old, dead, etc.) and don't even seem to have noticed that at the same time we have cut ourselves off from reality. It's not all up to us. We can't invent ourselves, we can't, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy notoriously opined, "define [our] own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." A proper appreciation of what we have been given by our predecessors helps us understand our reliance on what has been given to us by God as well (which is one of the main ideas behind this blog). If, like Esau, we listen to our appetites of the moment and disregard everything else, we will lose our own birthright . . . forever.
Human Dignity and Death
Human Dignity Human dignity has fallen on hard times. Consider this. Suicide is a key image for our culture today. Our society is always looking for new ways to destroy itself. We seem intent on destroying our connections to our forebears, destroying their reputations and even tearing down their statues. Likewise, we reject the classic achievements in … Continue reading Human Dignity and Death
A Tribute Vice Pays to Itself, or, The Joy of Getting Gelded
The celebrated 17th century wit François de La Rochefoucauld once opined, “hypocrisy is a tribute vice pays to virtue”. In other words, we lie about what we are doing because we’re wise enough, at least, to be ashamed of it. What can we say, however, about an age that knows no shame?
A Prayer for Sufferers of Mental Illness on the Feast of St. Dymphna
During the summer when school is not in session I used to work in the garden center of a local retail store, which was a pleasant break from the rigors and stresses of the academic year. One afternoon I cashed out a very friendly older woman, but when I wished her a "good evening" she shook … Continue reading A Prayer for Sufferers of Mental Illness on the Feast of St. Dymphna
Don’t Be So Judgmental!
My, how times have changed. We used to have the Seven Deadly Sins and the Sins That Cry Out to Heaven For Vengeance. Most of these don't seem of much concern to most people any more, even in many institutions that claim to be Catholic; some are even treated almost as virtues. In their place is … Continue reading Don’t Be So Judgmental!
A Smaller, Purer Church?
In reality, all Fr. Ratzinger was doing was looking at social trends, the "signs of the times" (see Matthew 16:3). He saw a society in which Christian belief was becoming less important with, as a consequence, progressively less social advantage to membership. As the advantage diminished and eventually disappeared, the less committed members would move out, and on to something else . . .
“Art” For A Degraded Age
Sure, this one piece of ugliness, which will probably soon come down anyway (the show of which it is a part is scheduled to close in a couple of weeks) is not the end of civilization as we have known it. But it's not just one piece. It is one more piece, one more bit of degradation, pushing the boundaries of the acceptable just a little beyond the last thing that was "no big deal", one more step toward cultural oblivion.
Crisis Magazine Has Homer’s Back
I'm just dropping a quick note to let you know about a great article by Paul Krause on the Crisis Magazine website called "Reclaiming Homer". Krause shows that the underlying theme of Homer's Iliad is forgiveness, and demonstrates that, once again, the Cancel Warriors don't have a clue. Don't miss it.