Just yesterday a post appeared on another Patheos blog called “A plea for a measure of incoherence” (call me old fashioned, but I go in for capitalizing my titles. I do like e.e. cummings though). The piece is a wonderful exploration of not only the inevitability of ambiguity but also of its desirability (a topic on which I have commented before). Here’s an especially nice tidbit: [It’s] true that there were those in these controversies that fought boldly, even defying... Read more
It was a few years ago, when I was just beginning to come to the Church. I’d go with my roommate to Sunday Mass, not really knowing exactly what I was doing, but familiar with the basics thanks to my years of Catholic schooling. Sitting, standing, kneeling, all of these came easily enough (though the new responses took time), but the finer points of discipline completely eluded me. At this point in my life during one Mass, I saw something... Read more
I am no alarmist, but there is undeniably something post-Christian about our time and place (the West). Or, perhaps, the better way of putting it is that we are post-Christendom, thrust back into pre-Constantinian days in which to be a Christian is an act of protest, squared off against both the status quo and other philosophical sects bent on challenging the structure of society. As I have argued before, we have much in common with those in the past who... Read more
My last post, “Rigid Traditionalism is Idolatry,” has elicited quite the reaction, more so than I had expected. Thankfully, support has outweighed outrage, but anger has still reared its ugly head. Unfortunately, as a graduate student, I don’t have the time to bicker for hours on Twitter (I’m not sure anyone does), nor do I have the time to moderate and respond to every comment on the piece. And so, I’ve decided to write this brief note as a final... Read more
Let it not be said that this piece applies to all traditionalists in a Latin context. I have great respect for the Latin Mass and have many a friend who prefers it to the Novus Ordo. It is also not an endorsement of particular changes in pastoral approach. Its goal is to problematize and complicate our view of history so that a fruitful discussion might be had. I ask you to please read with this in mind. (Considering the response... Read more
As many a Catholic site repeats in the wake of Bernie Sanders’ rising political fortunes, the Church rejects socialism in its vainglorious quest to abolish private property and demolish all difference. One need only look to Rerum Novarum: The socialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and setting up a State supervision, act against natural justice, and destroy the structure of the home. […] And in addition to injustice, it is only too evident what an upset and disturbance there... Read more
Christianity defines itself as a religion of peace, not insofar as the Messiah brought and brings no disruption, but insofar as violence is reserved for specifically delineated circumstances; it is not to be accepted easily, and only to be accepted after great prayer and fasting. We might remember that Mattathias, before he kills the Jew for apostasy, lifts his voice up in prayerful lamentation: Woe is me! Why was I born to see the ruin of my people, the ruin... Read more
Mother Angelica’s repose has been a cause for personal reflection; she constituted a part of the Catholic American experience on which I missed out, partly willfully, partly because of ignorance. Having not been raised Catholic, EWTN was not a part of my childhood. In fact, the one friend I had who did watch the channel (and it was on all the time at his house) eventually became an atheist (I don’t mean to imply that the two were related; I... Read more
As an undergrad I majored in English and minored in Medieval Studies at a relatively upscale liberal arts school, the College of the Holy Cross. My background is basically working class; neither of my parents has a four-year degree, and my grandparents were a janitor, an assembly-line worker, a machinist, and a home-cleaner. I am, to what seems a large segment of society, precisely the type of person who should not be pursuing a liberal arts degree. I am remiss,... Read more
Easter is upon us! A once-a-year festival, it reminds us of, and celebrates, Christ’s victory over death, the central tenet of Christian belief: He is risen! And yet, it is a more than annual feast. In fact, part of its true significance is embedded in a process most, if not all, Christians realize, but fail to recognize: that every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection, that every week we are called to remember His glorious Resurrection. As Dorothy C.... Read more
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