Christ’s church is one. The Creed affirms: I believe in one, holy, catholic, and Apostolic church. The idea of catholicity is easily misunderstood. Often we are told that this means “universal” and that is true, but can be misleading. The church is not an aggregate of all the faithful. The church does not get larger when a soul is converted, the soul grows larger! Instead, the church is whole when Jesus enters the person. Jesus is the head of His church,... Read more

Once there was a little boy who imagined himself a warrior. He loved swords and always was ready to challenge Dad, Grandpapa, and any visitor to a fight. If facing a giant, six foot seven or so, he was fearless. He would lay about with his sword even when being twirled through the air. His victories were real, because he was brave, even if the situations, battles, and victories he imagined were not. He thought they were and so they were... Read more

Sharona or Natalie? This question haunts our popular culture, but before turning to the deep things of Television, you will have to go rewind the clever television series Monk. Is there any better show for our time than comfort television centered in a germaphobic detective? Monk, the title character, has more than a few phobias and what might be terrifically offensive is pulled off by the underrated actor Tony Shaloub. (Watch his star turn in Galaxy Quest. In fact, if geek-like, stop... Read more

The beauty of the moon last night reminded me of the goodness of the world. When I walked over to the gardens, fields, and copse of trees behind the College and School, I saw beauty, design, and transcendence. I did not bring the glory to nature, God did and nature still reflects that glory well. We do not listen or we could hear the song of creation. When I walk to work (now sadly empty of folks), I can take joy... Read more

Past performance, infomercials remind us at the very end, with hasty voiceover, is no guarantee of future performance. Now in this pandemic, like any other difficult time, things seem as if they are some new normal and that nothing will ever be the same. This is true and very false. True enough that our experiences are changing us, culture, and even nature. Once the virus had not spread through the world, confined to some animal, but now things are different... Read more

Mary of Egypt spent forty-five years in prayer, exiled from the Church. In Soviet times, Russians sometimes had no close working church. Our bishops, for good or ill, are asking us to stay home this Holy Season. We can endure and the decision as Henry V points out is on the leaders, not the faithful. The Church has endured worse problems, more difficult decisions by leaders, and endured, because Jesus is here. He is alive and all the ceremonies, history, creeds,... Read more

For the duration of the pandemic, I have decided to focus on the positive. Dialectic debate is good and necessary, but for the duration of the fight against the virus this blog is dedicated to helping teachers and students. As a result, some discussions are on hold as we get good cheer and resources out to students. Here is a series done by one of my favorite educators in the United States on Thomas Aquinas. This is Part I. This is... Read more