On this day, last year, this is where I was at – still thinking of Advent and what it means, but under very different circumstances. It is amazing how fast time goes by, how our days pass almost in a blur unless we stop to take stock. And it’s also amazing how much my mutton-chopped, exceedingly loud 16 year old has taught me. And how much my brother is teaching me, still. Some of my Evangelical friends have wondered to... Read more
Buster has worn a kilt on more than on occasion – in full Highlander regalia there are few things more stirring or elegant-looking than a laddie in a kilt, particularly if he is a braw and bonny lad, with some height and some muscle on him. A kilt with a Balmoral jacket is also pretty exquisite! Real men wear kilts! This linebacker is being prevented from wearing his to a school dance. Seems silly to me. A fellow in a... Read more
On this day, one year ago, this is where I was at — still thinking of Advent and what it means, but under very different circumstances. It is amazing how fast time goes by, how our days pass almost in a blur unless we stop to take stock. And it’s also amazing how much my mutton-chopped, exceedingly loud 16 year old has taught me. And how much my brother is teaching me, still. Some of my Evangelical friends have wondered... Read more
Vatican at Christmas Cardinals caught in the wind at JPII’s funeral – I’d forgotten that! Shepherds and Kings? Read more
You can listen to all of the O Antiphons, as well as other carols and lessons by the North American College Choir here. Quite lovely. (H/T millotempore) Reading: Stop passing judgement before the time of the Lord’s return. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and manifest the intentions of hearts. At that time, everyone will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5 Antiphon: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine... Read more
Julie at Happy Catholic has Benedict all poped-out in traditional papal habidashery. Dappled Things has more and links to a slide show. It’s nice, the special clothes and festooning…but I don’t get hung up on it, and doubt that Benedict will, either. I loved JPII – he was so outsized, so larger than life, that he didn’t need all the trappings, and kept his wardrobe simple and rather modern, and I liked that, too. Balance. St. Benedict’s whole Rule was... Read more
A man approaches, wearing sandals and simple raiment, a raw tomato held firmly in his right hand, and says, ‘The affections of family and country alike are hindrances to the fuller development of human love’; but the plain thinker will only answer him, with a wonder not untinged with admiration, ‘What a great deal of trouble you must have taken in order to feel like that.'” [G.K. Chesterton, in Heretics] The Blog of the Chesterton Society is here. And about... Read more
I like this chant , found at Dappled Things along with this meditation for Monday’s Vespers: Today the Church’s Evensong salutes Christ as the Root of Jesse. The imagery is of the fresh growth that comes forth from the father of King David, a strong plant that will grow to be a sign not just for Israel, but for the Gentiles as well. Yesterday, the Lord was acclaimed as the God of the Old Testament; today we’re reminded that salvation,... Read more
UPDATE: Byron York has just posted a more extensive look at Bill Clinton and Warrantless Searches. Interesting reading. John Schmidt, who served under President Clinton from 1994 to 1997 as the associate attorney general of the United States, says The President has the authority: President Bush’s post- Sept. 11, 2001, authorization to the National Security Agency to carry out electronic surveillance into private phone calls and e-mails is consistent with court decisions and with the positions of the Justice Department... Read more
I love articles like this one, wherein the writer, an avowed atheist, suggests that Christians should stop apologizing for being Christian. The modern Left exercises a militant anti-Christianity not so much because of a cultural cringe in the face of immigrant minorities, but because of its general wish to dismantle history. Once you have erased Christianity, you have erased (or at least made appear irrelevant) much of the past 1,400 years. “Modernisation” in all its political forms is about the... Read more
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