Facts are not negotiable. Mom’s decisions could be. Our children learned that if they could make us laugh, they might (might!) avoid all punishment for whatever naughtiness had been committed. Facts might not be negotiable, but outcomes in life sometimes are. Science can give us facts, including the fact of what will happen if we act certain ways, based on those facts. They cannot just tell us what we should do. All the facts in the world piled high together... Read more
As legends go, he was the genuine article. Douglas Clark was a champion wrestler and rugby legend before going off to war. He hauled ammunition on the Western Front in World War I, suffered horrible injuries, won a medal for bravery, and then came home to wrestle, play some more world class rugby. He helped create “professional” wrestling where he was an early international superstar. Steven Bell has written a delightful summer read (Pitch Publishing) about this amazing man. Clark grew up throwing sacks... Read more
If the United States of America is your country, as it is my country, these are days when we celebrate the beginnings of our freedom. The great nearly always have complicated legacies. They may have gotten some big things right, for which we celebrate, but have gotten other important issues wrong. As citizens of this community, there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice. This year I recall the not-so-famous who had fewer choices to make, but... Read more
Tomorrow in the Church year is the Second Sunday of Saint Matthew, this is most important, but this weekend we are celebrating my brother’s birthday. That jolly event will not be the focus of the Church Universal, but I will say a prayer for him. I do not love my brother because I am a Christian, but I hope to love him better as a result. Tomorrow is also the birthday of our nation and, as the liturgy directs, we will... Read more
The most mysterious book I own is a blank book from my birthday. This remarkable volume came with a bottle of superior ink for a pen. Allegedly, and this is a condition of the gift, I shall fill it with poetry. I am one of the few people living to be told by a poet not to write poetry for the public. I shall not, but I can fill this blank book with the attempt. Poetry is too important for the soul to... Read more
The good Book is beautiful. The beauty of the Book of Books points us Godward. Beauty always does. The books of the Bible reveal God to us and so are full of literary beauty. There is in truth always great beauty and the beauty of language in the Psalms or John declares the glory of God. God is beautiful, His creation is beautiful, but sin mars the beauty. Since the Bible tells the truth about the world, not all... Read more
Speak the word of hope. Words in the mouth of God create the reality in which we live. We are ideas made incarnate by the Word, the stuff that a Divine Will makes. Our own words are like and not like those given to us by our Father. They can create. We can consent to reality or we can defy the truth. We can make what will be joyful or mournful for other humans. What we cannot do is change... Read more
Paul and Peter are often portrayed together: two apostles with contrasting, but not conflicting messages. They were very different, a rabbi and a fisherman. Peter became the Prince of the Apostles, the first amongst apostolic equals. Paul wrote epistles that remain some of the most profound expressions of Christian truth ever written. The powerful did not want to hear what they were saying. The Empire beheaded Paul and crucified Peter. Before martyrdom, both could see the way things seemed to... Read more
Do we live in a decadent age? There are bad cultural moments that are not decadent, the early Soviet Union was vigorous, led by brilliant people, and terribly wicked. There are good culture moments that are not perfect, 1776 was a promise of liberty not realized. Decadence is something else. A decadent culture is dying from amusements and the misuse of unearned power that has no object other than more power. These tyrants rule, because they wish to rule. They... Read more
Have hope. There is a possibility of glorification if we wish. This is not, naturally, due to our own talents, skills, or aptitudes. If keeping score, most of us are not “winning” at the game of life. Whoever made the rules, we are not beautiful, smart, or good enough to win. What can we do? What is left to us? So many jobs, roles, or even ways of existing are just not open to us. I cannot will myself to write as... Read more
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