Cromwell banned Christmas lest someone somewhere not be having approved fun. Truthfully merry making can lead to vice: excellent food tempts us to over eat, good drink to drunkenness. Beauty naturally leads to love, love to desire, and not all of us (Lord have mercy!) can handle strong desires well. The temptation is then to ban or limit the jollification as if happiness were the problem. Nonsense. Centuries of killjoys trying to regulate their way to holiness should have taught... Read more
Culture changes can make mild social injustices obvious, or unpopular, or create new ones. Changes in our economy from 1900 to 1960’s took economic power from homes (farms, family business) to workplaces disconnected to family. The results have still not been incorporated in ways that sustain both the economy, families, and individual choice. . . Oddly, I was reminded of this by a fluffy piece of Young Adult Fiction from 1962. This is a “thrilling series for girls,” but as... Read more
Be thou ready, Bethlehem, Eden hath opened unto all. Ephratha, prepare thyself, for now behold, the Tree of life hath blossomed forth in the cave from the Holy Virgin. Her womb hat proved a true spiritual Paradise, wherein the divine and saving Tree is found, as we eat thereof we shall all live, and shall not die as did Adam. For Christ is born now to raise the image that had fallen aforetime. So the church teaches us to pray as we... Read more
Some movies are Christmas movies, think any version of A Christmas Carol, some are debatably Christmas movies (Is Miracle on 34th Street actually a Thanksgiving movie?), and others are frequently watched over the Holidays (Lord of the Rings Extended Edition marathon). Die Hard with a focus on a suffering hero that is set before the Twelve Days of Christmas is an Advent movie. Joining Mary Poppins, Lord of the Rings, Sound of Music, and other not-Christmas, but perfect for vacation movies... Read more
Some of us are born believing we are “lucky” or that we are “men of destiny.” This is a bad idea and not because God does not bless people or call us to certain tasks. The blessings of God come from a person who cannot be manipulated or controlled. There is no “charming” God, talisman that can force His hand, or favorite who can make Him do what he does not wish to do. His will is done on earth... Read more
Palafox is blurbed by comparisons as if the reviewers could find no reason to praise the book, this very odd book, for itself. Let me: this is a book that is amusing, infuriating, ugly, and in a few paragraphs, beautiful. The prose (at least in W.A. Mason’s translation) lurches from gossip magazine style to high art in one page. This bit is just funny: General Fontechevades loves his work, prospects are good, there’s time left to read, which one can... Read more
The little tin cup sits in honor on our shelves on Christmas. The history of this cup began in tragedy, foreshadowed martyrdom, and now is a symbol to us of the joy that comes at the End of history. We are born and no matter who were are, what goes wrong, we can, if we will, live happily ever after world without end. Amen. What is the story of our cup? Nicholas Romanov was not ready to be Tsar. His... Read more
Everyone should wish to be reasonable, just as everyone should wish to breathe. The unreasonable person is either a fool or crazy. Yet reason is a tool more than an end: a grinder that works on whatever reason is given. A logical argument can be sound with false premises: Christianity is false. If Christianity is false, one should not believe it. THEREFORE: One should not believe in Christianity. This argument is sound, but not persuasive. Why? The first premise is false.... Read more
Every so often the mobs in Paris go mad and impose the madness on the rest of France. They will butcher a hapless monarch like Louis XVI to go through bloodlust and end in global tyrant Napoleon. This is the wisdom of the French mob: trading mild government for tyranny in search of decadence. The reign of terror is the best known example of licentiousness being confused with liberty in France, but not the only one. The Paris Commune murdered... Read more
The bloody men in Paris get all the press: Robespierre the butcher tormented his countrymen from his inner torment. That is a horrible thing to do, yet leads to excellent stories if you are safely away from his era. If a tyrant kills for a noble idea, then Hollywood will forgive him much, since he is so internally complex. The man who lops off the heads of the innocent out of a profound sense of conflict leaves his victims no... Read more
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