The Funeral Of Benedict XVI And The End Of An Era

Last updated on: January 4, 2023 at 3:57 am By Henry Karlson

The funeral for Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI brings to a conclusion a rather difficult era for Catholicism. While Benedict was no longer Pope, and consistently pointed that out, many of his would-be followers did not want to believe this and acted as if he were the true Pope, ignoring or denouncing Pope Francis. During this time, we also saw that some of those who reluctantly admitted that Benedict XVI had legitimately resigned from the papacy and acknowledged Francis was Pope nonetheless... Read more

Books And Other Goods

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 3:48 am By Henry Karlson

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One of the things the early desert father and mothers learned is that different people were called to different kinds of livelihoods, different goods. For them, that good was that of an ascetic life, one which was to be not only simple, but free from worldly goods. They radically entrusted themselves to the benevolence of God, trusting that God would help them not only survive in some of the harshest living conditions possible, but they would come to experience the... Read more

What Is In A Name?

Last updated on: January 1, 2023 at 3:49 am By Henry Karlson

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When writing an icon, only when every other element is finished, and the figure or event has been properly rendered, will an iconographer place upon it the name of the person being depicted on the icon. Writing the name on the icon is believed to be one of the most important elements in its production because it is with and through the name a connection between the saint depicted and the icon is established. This is why, even if we... Read more

Our Changing Relationship With An Unchangeable God

Last updated on: December 30, 2022 at 3:47 am By Henry Karlson

The relationship which exists between God and us, between God and creation, is impossible to fully explain because a part of it, God’s reality and experience of it, transcends our comprehension. We can, and will, discuss it using human conventions, but we must accept that when we do so, we can only approximate, often through analogies, what it is like for God. Our own experience of it is much easier to discuss, but even, we find ourselves struggling to put... Read more

Indifference To COVID Is Indifference To The Value Of Life

Last updated on: December 28, 2022 at 3:06 am By Henry Karlson

Life is a precious gift to be honored and preserved. This does not mean we should artificially preserve life indefinitely, hooked up on a machine, never allowing a person to go to their natural death. When we do that, what they have is not true life, but its shadow, and with it, the person has lost most if not all the dignity which should be associated with life in the process. On the other hand, we should not be indifferent... Read more

Solovyov’s “Free Theocracy” Vs. Integralism

Last updated on: December 27, 2022 at 3:49 am By Henry Karlson

One of the things being promoted by various Christian is the idea of Christian integralism, the notion that everything in the world should find itself subsumed into a Christian state, a state where Christian moral principles alone serve as the foundation of for its legal system. Such integralists also think that if people are unwilling to enter in and follow such a state, they can and should be forced to do so. Integralists deny the pluralism promoted by religious, as... Read more

The Transcendent Mystery Of Christ’s Nativity

Last updated on: December 25, 2022 at 3:04 am By Henry Karlson

Christ is Born! We have become so accustomed to hearing the story of Christ’s birth, telling it again and again, listening to it year after year, reflecting upon the same things over and over again, it almost feels as if there is nothing more to say. All its mystery has been taken away. That is because we come the story looking merely for facts which we can recite instead of trying to find a way to integrate ourselves into the... Read more

Pride And Judgment

Last updated on: December 23, 2022 at 3:14 am By Henry Karlson

In the Systematic Collection of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, there are many apophthegms which offer us anonymous pearls of wisdom. While someone remembered what was said, they did not remember, or at least did not record, who said it. While some might think this represents a slight to the speaker involved, in reality, we should understand it is not. Rather, it follows the kind of spirituality many such speakers had, where they did not seek fame or prestige... Read more

We Must Not Become Like Frank Pavone

Last updated on: December 21, 2022 at 3:05 am By Henry Karlson

When a particular, limited good, is treated as or turned into the absolute good, those who embrace it in this fashion level off or deny all other goods which they believe interfere with or deny the promotion of that particular good. In this fashion, they enter into an idolatrous relationship with that particular good; they treat it as the absolute good which it is not. And, as the absolute good is holistic, integrating and engaging all particular goods, purposefully ignoring... Read more

Two Kinds Of Goodness

Last updated on: December 20, 2022 at 3:45 am By Henry Karlson

Scripture appears to offer us contradictory statements about who or what is good. Some passages, such as found at the beginning of Genesis, show us that God finds all things are good: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day” (Gen. 1:31 RSV). Other passages, however, suggest that nothing in creation can or should be said to be good, for only God is... Read more