The Party of Economic Royalism in Full Panic Mode

Last updated on: December 1, 2011 at 3:58 pm By Matt Talbot

Frank Luntz, on how Republicans should address the Occupy Wall Street movement: 1. Don’t say ‘capitalism.’ 2. Don’t say that the government ‘taxes the rich.’ Instead, tell them that the government ‘takes from the rich.’ 3. Republicans should forget about winning the battle over the ‘middle class.’ Call them ‘hardworking taxpayers.’ “They cannot win if the fight is on hardworking taxpayers. We can say we defend the ‘middle class’ and the public will say, I’m not sure about that. [Emphasis... Read more

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XL

Last updated on: December 1, 2011 at 10:47 am By Henry Karlson

Introduction and Part II If a person is forced to swim across a turbulent body of water, they must do so in all sobriety, with as much attention as possible; if they are drunk, the water will take them under and they will die.[1] “In the same way the soul, finding herself dragged down by the currents of worldly distractions, needs to regain sobriety, awakening from sinful materiality. She should come to know herself: that, though she is divine and... Read more

A Canon of Everything

Last updated on: November 30, 2011 at 12:44 pm By Sam Rocha

This year’s Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society conference was themed “Immortal Conversations: Doing 21st Century Philosophy of Education.” I was invited to join a panel discussing questions related to the idea of immortal conversations. Here are some of the remarks I made, focusing on the so-called “canon wars.” While much has been made about the politics of canonicity, there is nothing particularly exceptional about them. Anyone who has taken a photograph has surely engaged in these kinds of politics.... Read more

Violence Ends On the Cross

Last updated on: November 30, 2011 at 12:43 pm By Henry Karlson

René Girard certainly is one of the more interesting, and important, thinkers on violence in contemporary Christian thought. The sacrificial reading of the cross, to him, errs because it helps promote the violence, and indeed, repeat the violence, which is ended on the cross itself. Christ as the scapegoat is to bring us out of the cycle of violence, but Christians have not properly followed Christ and have turned back to pre-Christian, sinful, ways of thought: The task is to... Read more

Human Trafficking and Love146

Last updated on: April 26, 2017 at 3:59 pm By pentimento

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, let us not forget that evil continues to walk abroad, and that its aim is the total annihilation of all that is good, beautiful, and true. The sexual abuse of children has come once again into the forefront of the public imagination. And every day, throughout the world — including in the United States — children are bought and sold as sexual commodities, at the estimated rate of two per... Read more

To See God Beyond the Mask

Last updated on: November 29, 2011 at 12:50 pm By Henry Karlson

Often, we think about the time of Jesus and we believe we would have readily recognized him as the messiah and followed him without question. We are so used to what we have come to believe about him, we do not understand why anyone would believe differently. Here is Jesus, here are all his miracles, here is what he predicts will happen, here is what happened. Why couldn’t the people of Israel recognize him? And yet, Jesus is there before... Read more

Silence the Lie

Last updated on: November 28, 2011 at 10:46 am By Henry Karlson

The fallen world is a world full of lies, and the one who follows the way of this fallen world can metaphorically be said to be a son of the devil. He is a liar and a murderer – the two are connected together, because through lies, the world is destroyed, and people’s lives are lost. And those who lose their lives, those who find themselves utterly ruined by the evil around them find all kinds of lies used to... Read more

First Sunday of Advent

Last updated on: November 27, 2011 at 8:30 pm By Sofia Loves Wisdom

While many grumble about the new Mass translation, and others celebrate, today opens the first day of Advent. I love Advent. What I most love about Advent is bringing the prayers in my home and lighting the candles every night at dinner. There is something just sacred about sitting down, lighting the candles and praying the Advent prayers before eating. I know that the act of lighting candles matters, because when I asked my kiddo what she understands about Advent... Read more

Why Do We Care If She Was A Virgin?

Last updated on: November 27, 2011 at 4:58 pm By David Cruz-Uribe

Last Tuesday, November 22, was the feast of St. Cecilia. Very little is known about her, except that she was a martyr to the faith: even the date of her martyrdom is uncertain. There are a number of legends about her early life and her death, but the Catholic Encyclopedia states that they are a “pious romance” that “has no historical value.” These legends make a very big deal about her virginity: indeed, according to the legends she was a... Read more

The Eucharist Makes The World Real

Last updated on: November 27, 2011 at 10:52 am By Henry Karlson

Communion works to bring the whole of creation into Christ. The world is transfigured, the world participates in the eucharistic transformation, with the eucharist itself being a participation of the eschatological feast where Christ will be all in all. By partaking of the eucharist, we find ourselves drawn into Christ; we are made one with him. By being made food, Christ has found a way to join himself with us, to have us take him in and transform us from... Read more