In an old post, mention was made of the moral exhortations that abound within our culture concerning what to do with one’s body, even as that same culture bleats out the mantra “my body, my choice”. Mention was also made of the fibres within our bodies acting as deposits of memory, which makes bodies as not just a thing in the here and now, but also a sign and reminder of things long past, in the same way that scars... Read more
Amidst the onslaught of tinsel, Christmas sales, exhortations by ostensibly Christian politicians to spend more in order to save the economy and the renditions of “Mary, Did You Know?” blaring across entertainment systems, one would be forgiven for thinking that the infant Jesus had already come and perhaps even gone (and this is, of course, assuming that people still remember that was what Christmastide was about). With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, one could easily forget that... Read more
In the preamble of his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, St. John Paul II spoke of the practice of the recitation of the Rosary as a Christocentric prayer, in light of the reflection in all but 2 episodes of the life of Incarnate Word. In the words of the preamble the Rosary, rightly prayed, therefore, should be a “compendium” of the Gospel which has “all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, and should lead one to... Read more
A previous post on the longing for spaces once traversed elicited a higher-than-usual response from readers. Thinking as to why this is the case has prompted further reflection on one point, namely the relationship between the city and the soul. As mentioned in that post, thinkers since Plato have looked at the soul as not just immaterial and purely interior entities. Rather, the human soul is something that fans out into space and works itself out in every nook... Read more
A lot of highly informative resources have come out on newsfeeds in recent weeks, so much so that it has been hard to collate them. However, in the wake of the supposed victory for conservatism at the most recent American mid-term elections, and the mouth-frothing over the alleged goings on surrounding the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, the ongoing question of what actually is a conservative seems to be (perhaps unconciously) operating behind a lot of these new posts, a... Read more
Sometimes, living in one city after a long period spent in another, means that the transition back can be long and difficult. This is particularly so if that latter city has legendary status in the popular imagination. We spend our days back here longing to be back there, and the smallest reminder can trigger an almost overhwhelming wave of nostalgia. A turn around the corner can suddenly bring us back to an alleyway we saw in Paris. A cup of... Read more
The author Daniel Schwindt, who edits the website Solidarity Hall, recently released a book entitled Letters to My Generation. Written as a series of letters to an anonymous millenial reader, the book is fundamentally a raft of searing critiques of American culture over the last century. The book is incisive and highly accessible. A particularly pithy chapter of the book, entitled “The Verbal Universe” puts a contemporary spin on Soren Kierkegaard’s critique in Two Ages: A Literary Review. In it,... Read more
In the book of Genesis, all of the created world “in all their array” is made by the time the reader gets to the sixth day (Gen 2:1), yet we know that the week comes to its true completion when God rests on the Holy day, which is the seventh. There is thus a semblance of completion on the sixth day, because the sixth day stands at the threshold of a greater completion, which is signified by the convergence between... Read more
In the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, used in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, there is a part before the reading of the Epistle and the Gospel called the Trisagion, otherwise known as the “Thrice Holy” hymn, which the both the priest and the congregation say or sing Holy God Holy and Mighty Holy and Immortal Have Mercy on Us A musical sample of this can be found in the Greek by clicking here. It is incredibly... Read more
Readers in the Sydney area might be interested to know that there will be an Australian launch of Justice, Unity and the Hidden Christ, authored by Matthew Tan and published by Pickwick Publications. This follows the successful launch of the book in the United States earlier this year. The launch will be held at Gleebooks (49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe) on 24th October 2014 at 6pm for 6:30pm. The launch will feature two guest speakers in dialogue, Benjamin Myers of... Read more
The Divine Wedgie
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