He was something absolutely modern. And his insincerity was stunning. Oh, true, he wanted to marry Julia Flyte. She was beautiful, sophisticated and a scion of a wealthy aristocratic English family. And she had a dowry – a huge dowry. It seemed only natural that they should be together, he assured himself. And so Rex Mottram, Canadian businessman and inveterate social climber, would pursue her. Evelyn Waugh’s tongue must have been planted firmly in cheek as he crafted the pompous,... Read more
The die is cast. Neil Gorsuch, a federal judge from the United States Court of Appeals (10th Circuit), has officially been named President Trump’s nominee to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the United States Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch has impeccable credentials with degrees from Colombia, Harvard Law and Oxford, clerked for Judge David Sentelle on the D.C. Court of Appeals and for Supreme Court Justices Byron White and (the sitting) Anthony Kennedy. He achieved partnership in an eminent D.C.... Read more
Saint Francis in Meditation by Francisco de Zurbarán ———– “If you wish to live well, spend the remaining days of life with death before your eyes.” – St. Alphonsus di Liguori Sheesh. If you’ve been paying attention, 2016 has been ruthless in its voracious claim on lives. First, to those who have lost a spouse or child, mother or father, brother or sister, dear friend or close relative, no list of the famous dead will generate grief that even begins to compare.... Read more
St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Caravaggio I have the most curious habit. I’ve never been able to explain it, but I think I finally figured it out. Let me explain. Every year, as I enter the season of Advent and begin preparation for Christmas, it never fails. I have an insatiable hunger for stories of Resistance. No, I’m not talking about my much-flawed resistance to temptation or those daunting resistance workout programs. I mean historical stories depicting resistance against oppression. Generally,... Read more
Fidel Castro, 1959 It has been a surreal week. Fidel Castro, revolutionary, president and dictator of the island nation of Cuba, died at the age of ninety. Though failing in health by the time he stepped down in 2006, his iron grip remained. Having cultivated a successor in Raul, his eighty-five year old younger brother and a decades-old corrupt, ideological bureaucracy of cronies and criminals, Fidel Castro maintained an unspoken influence by the sheer fact that he continued to draw breath. And how... Read more
The Return of the Prodigal Son by James Tissot She was so excited. Seven years old. Smiling eyes. A toothy grin that never quits. And hugs that can simultaneously squeeze the wind out of you and melt your heart. This is my youngest daughter. And tonight was her First Reconciliation. Going to a Catholic school, her second grade teacher had been prepping the class for weeks on this their second Sacrament (their first being Baptism). Only two years before, she had... Read more
And so it has come down to this. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, Americans will be asked to cast a vote for president. And the choices are abysmal. For those who have been paying attention, we have witnessed an unprecedented display of deception, corruption, incompetence, ignorance, childishness, dogmatism and loutishness. While rivalries for high American office can often bring out the worst in people, this year’s contest has descended into the blackest gutter…and stayed there. Day... Read more
Dear Mr. Podesta, I hope you are well. I understand that the political season has kept you quite busy and, for that reason, I will try to keep my message brief. You clearly have much important work to do. Recently, Wikileaks publicized several email exchanges between yourself, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri, liberal think tank Center For American Progress fellow John Halpin, and Voices of Progress president Sandy Newman. Given that you were included in all of the emails... Read more
King Lear & the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce “I don’t want it to storm.” Her seven year-old voice quivered a bit as she leaned forward in her seat. My eyes caught hers in the rearview mirror. Anxiously, she followed the windshield wipers back and forth, back and forth. “I don’t want it to storm.” “It’s okay, baby. Just a little rain. I don’t think there’ll be any storm tonight.” Sitting back, my daughter’s brow unfurrowed. Her countenance... Read more
You Could Not Watch One Hour With Me by James Tissot Just think of what they had seen. Withered hands stretched back to wholeness. Sightless eyes granted vision. Leprous skin made clean. Food multiplied. Storms calmed. Graves surrendering their dead. Forgiveness granted. Pride laid low. Dignity restored. And the stories – the parables – were so approachable, yet so profound. These men had seen the face of God revealed through the unlined face of a carpenter’s son. Only now, they slept.... Read more
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