The last time one of my books came out my wife read the blurb about the author and burst out laughing. The blurb was the usual bookseller’s blather trying to puff me as ‘the next Chesterton’ or as ‘well known author, apologist, speaker, broadcaster…blahblahblahblah. None of it was untrue, but neither was it an accurate portrait of me as a person. It was hype and hyperbole and I felt like a hypocrite. “Who writes this stuff?” my wife chortled. “Well,... Read more

In the GardenIn the yard I discovered a rose bedGrown over with creepers, thistles and weeds.I looked for a time; considered its needs,then started to work, digging up the deadbushes, and the brambles with thorns that pluckand cling. The roots were deep and dark and cameup almost like a mandrake with a scream.At last I saw some order, and was struckwith an understanding of the gardener’s plan:There were five beds of roses side by side,Ten rose bushes in each bed;... Read more

You’ve heard of the epidemic of mad cow disease in England a few years ago? It seems the disease has not finished, and has, in fact, passed into the human population. The happy result of this worrying trend is that there seems to have been a quantum leap in the intellectual capacities of both the bovine and human populations. (not to mention the owls and the squirrels) Check out English blogger Dunadan for his conversations with a cow. Warning: you... Read more

Confiteo While running the race I stumbled and fellWent flat on my face, and spitting up dust,got up on my knees as others ran past.I’m down and out, and for all I can tell,the race is over. I’m finished. I’ve lost. Then another runner reached down and tookmy hand. He gave me a smile and a lookthat made me feel I was not last, but first.So I rose– and determined to end the race;Ran pure and fleet with the wind... Read more

What is art supposed to do, and I don’t mean Art Garfunkel. In a world obsessed with practicality, efficiency and the bottom line, does art have a function? First what do I mean by art? I mean any human activity where we are creative. Art would therefore include everything from cooking and gardening and crafts to the production of popular culture as well as the production of ‘fine’ art, music, drama and literature. Is art practical? Not really. Does it... Read more

If you want to see a truly Catholic movie watch Hardball with Keanu Reeves. It’s not about a saint. It’s about a sinner. Reeves plays Connor O’Neil, a young guy with just about every problem you can get: unemployed, gambling addict, drink problem, drugs problem, truth problem…you name it. To avoid the guys with the baseball bats who are threatening to do some instant orthodontics, Connor takes a job coaching a little league team in the projects. Eventually he learns... Read more

The birds have no bordersthey call no country ‘home’.Their range is the wide skyboundless in blue and calm.They travel light, withoutpassports or visas signed.Checkpoints and border guardsnever stop their kind.They have no roads or traffic;their routes remain unplanned,except by the stars and sun,the seasons and the wind.The birds fly free over land,and widely they roam.they live everywhere,and nowhere’s their home. Read more

  There’s been a fair bit of comment about fine liturgy and the lamentable state of liturgical practice. I’m on the side of those who want to improve things, and have enough Catholic liturgical horror stories to write a book. Top of the list was the old Irish priest in Northern England who used to wipe his nose with the purificator in the middle of Mass. We do need to improve liturgy, and Fr Newman’s blog gives a link to... Read more

  I can tell that Lent is starting to bite because I am getting grumpy. Part of it is the fasting. I always get grumpy when I’m hungry. But there is more to it than that. I’m determined to engage in the spiritual battle. I’m trying to pray more, and I believe when we really try to pray more we start stirring up some of the smelly, mucky stuff that has drifted down to the bottom of the pond that... Read more

Among converts and those thinking of converting and those who are thinking of converting but denying it, there is a lot of talk about how awful the Catholic Church is when you actually stop reading books of apologetics and visit the local branch. Here you thought it was the Church Militant and it seems like the Church Mediocre. It has what Fr. Newman calls, ‘living room liturgy’ a goofy left wing priest wanders around in sandals, and tone deaf children... Read more