I don’t know whether my sleep schedule is irrevocably screwed up because I took one too many late afternoon naps, because I’m not getting a consistent dose of Vitamin D by going outside, because my gym is (quite appropriately) closed, or because I’m half-deliberately channeling the spirit of our old family friend Liam, who was habitually nocturnal and also easily the weirdest person I’ve ever met (I’m sure the two facts aren’t related); but, however it came to pass that... Read more
We’ve come to the close of Lent. Tonight the Triduum begins with the Maundy Thursday liturgy, after which the Blessed Sacrament is removed from churches and set aside—normally a vigil is kept during the night, though of course this year churches will be without worshipers. Good Friday is always a day of fasting for Catholics; this has been true since the beginning of the Church, as primitive Christians understood the Lord’s statement that “one day the bridegroom will be taken... Read more
Palm Sunday The beginning of Christendom is, strictly, at a point out of time. A metaphysical trigonometry finds it among the spiritual Secrets, at the meeting of two heavenward lines, one drawn from Bethany along the Ascent of Messias, the other from Jerusalem against the Descent of the Paraclete. That measurement, the measurement of eternity in operation, of the bright cloud and the rushing wind, is, in effect, theology. —Charles Williams, The Descent of the Dove Fig Monday Be adored... Read more
As you’ve perhaps noticed, shit has grown decidedly real. I’m low-key freaked out. I had a dry cough and some mild shortness of breath for a while, though those have gone, and I never had a fever anyway. But I know a lot of immunocompromised people, my parents are both nearly sixty and have lung issues (my dad smokes, my mom has asthma), and another relative of mine just unexpectedly had to have his gall bladder removed. My Starbucks closed on... Read more
Intro; The Misters President Sorry to go radio-silent for so long there—had a couple heavy weeks at work. And also, honestly, I was kind of dreading writing this one, because one of the things I needed to do for it was research the various reasons why women get abortions, and I knew that was going to make me very sad, no matter what they were, or whether they were what I expected or not. (They in fact were, so being... Read more
Intro Hey, sweaties. In my last, I went over single-issue voting versus the “seamless garment” approach. The normal sequel to this that I’ve seen from Catholic Democrats is that we should vote Democratic because even though they’re bad on abortion, they’re good on a lot of other stuff (like affordable health care and services for the poor), to the effect that their total platform aligns with Catholic Social Teaching much more closely than the Republicans do. Without denying the truth... Read more
The issue of abortion has been the chief political rallying point for conservative Catholics and evangelicals for fifty years, the non-negotiable point that has kept them tied to the GOP and away from the Democrats. No matter what other moral principles are at stake—war, care for the poor, immigration, affordable health care—nothing, it is argued, can justify refusing to protect the lives of innocents in the womb. I agree with that. It’s because I agree with it that I think... Read more
I. I haven’t really got out of the doldrums I described in my last post (or, indeed, that go back to Advent). I don’t know whether to attribute it to spiritual or natural causes—the latter seem likelier. God knows the incessant, cold, half-hearted rain that’s plagued the Chesapeake for the last month and some hasn’t put me in a better mood. The ongoing and thoroughly despicable corruption of the current presidential administration has been more than a little discouraging too,... Read more
I’m sitting at my desk, drinking a beer and listening to Dishwalla (shut up), and feeling lost. It’s one month until Lent starts, and I’ve been thinking vaguely about what I’ll do for it, but something feels sort of unreal about it. I’ve never felt as disconnected from the Church as I do now. Alienated, even. I’ve been wanting for a while to go to confession—I haven’t been since just before Christmas—but the brute fact is, I just don’t trust priests... Read more
I. Busy week, so I’ve put my series on Just War Theory on the backburner and hope to resume it next week. Meanwhile, I’d like to ask for some prayers: some friends of mine are having difficulty with a pregnancy they expect to miscarry; another friend recently lost his wife to cancer; I am considering getting involved in some activist work that might allow me to quit Starbucks and would be a lot more boots-on-the-ground leftist than I’m habituated to;... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In