(Matt. 13:24:30) Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the... Read more
If anyone tried to do what Abraham did today, we would obviously call him a religious nutcase. Nor do we have to stretch our imaginations to look for people who think that God has asked them to kill someone. We see it on the news quite frequently. So what are we to do with such a difficult passage? A few weeks ago we had the very famous Genesis 22 reading of God testing Abraham. It came immediately after the feast... Read more
I am currently teaching an introductory ethics course to Catholic school teachers. I found this song by Canadian band Stabilo to be useful for thinking about both Christian anthropology, namely our fallen nature, and the role of conscience in the ethical life. (more…) Read more
The latest report on the abuse scandal in Ireland – this one centered on the diocese of Cloyne – is provoking an unprecedented political pushback. Not so long ago, legislation needed the imprimatur of Dublin archbishop John Charles McQuaid and the de Valera state stood in the nervous shadow of Rome. The difference today could not be more dramatic. The report concludes that Bishop Magee (John Paul II’s one-time secretary) was not implementing guidelines as late as 2008, and indeed had... Read more
I don’t own an intentionameter; besides blood, I don’t know what, exactly, runs through peoples heads and hearts; I cannot make universal or general claims about things that I lack close and intimate proximity to. To complicate things further, when I use this or that word in a way that seems obvious to me, it will almost always appear differently to someone else—especially if that person is predisposed to disagree with me. From person to person, place to place, circumstance... Read more
http://youtu.be/WXRYA1dxP_0 Terence Malick’s new movie, Tree of Life, is a strange film. Strange, but brilliant and magnificent. Indeed, I believe this is one of the greatest movies ever made. For sure, it is not a simple, linear movie. As I said, it is strange. Too strange for some – I would say at least half of the people in the theater with me walked out during the first hour (I saw it on a weekday afternoon, so this is a small... Read more
Vox Nova is happy to introduce long-time commentator Mark Gordon as the latest addition to our list of contributors. Many readers will be familiar with Mark’s pertinent and charitable comments here at Vox Nova. Others may have heard of his personal blog, The Fever Chart. Mark has recently penned two guest posts for us here: Catholic Citizenship and the “Dorothy Option,“ and Staining the Silence. The latter was even picked up over that the Daily Dish. The team here at... Read more
Introduction and Part II “Life is the union and conjucture between intellect, soul and body, while death is not the destruction of these elements so conjoined, but the dissolution of their inter-relationship; for they are all saved through and in God, even after their dissolution.”[1] The text then turns toward the intellect, giving us a glimpse of what the author believes it to be. “The intellect is not the soul, but a gift of God that saves the soul; and... Read more
It has become almost reflexive in our society to use the 1970s as a sort of nadir of tasteless tackiness. You know the tropes; orange shag carpet, bell bottoms, velour upholstery, etc. Here’s the thing, though. The 1970s were the last decade where tastes were decided by the folks in the (then) broad middle of the income scale – because that was also the last decade when the middle class was big, rich, and healthy enough to have the lion’s... Read more
A regular humorous topic of conversation among certain friends of mine is the frequency and/or circumstances of getting spanked as a kid. The questions range from what did they use? (paddle, spoon, switch) to what did you put into your pants for protection? (extra clothes, pots and pans) to what was worse: the spanking itself or the anticipation on the way home in the van (“when we get home, you all are going straight to your rooms to get spanked”). ... Read more
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