The Garmarna rendition: (more…) Read more
The Garmarna rendition: (more…) Read more
As if we were in any doubt, we now know the real and absolute priority of the Republican party – tax cuts for the super-rich. They are now on record as saying that everything else will be held up until these cuts are extended. They have callously refused to extend unemployment benefits to the most vulnerable in the greatest downturn since the Great Depression, on the fallacious grounds of cost (the cost is a mere drop in the bucket next... Read more
What proved crucial in the Middle Ages was the fact that ever since late antiquity the Christian concept of charity, which is prior to the concept of poverty, had been enunciated and put into practice by bishops and monks in both the East and the West: The Christian view transformed spiritual humility into an active striving toward God and aimed at alleviating the physical and social humiliation of the poor. If we accept this interpretation, it is easy to perceive... Read more
Communion and Liberation’s Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete has written an excellent piece on Rubio’s church hopping. Rubio, if you recall, claims to be a faithful Catholic and a southern baptist at the same time. Drawing out some key doctrinal distinctions, Albacete calls the southern baptists an “ecclesial community” rather than a church (the same words used by Pope Benedict in his new and excellent Light of the World book). Bottom line: “It is impossible to be a Catholic in good standing and a... Read more
Living in the Green Bay media market, I received pretty heavy coverage of the Marinette hostage situation. My only expertise on Marinette is having driven through it a few times. I don’t really feel like entering into the “we need to do something” or “people are overreacting” mode of analysis. The pleading for a “rational explanation” and what signs were overlooked deserves more comment, but I’ll just say that we have overwhelming evidence that our confidence in discernment is unwarranted.... Read more
In a previous era, the role of the Court Jester was to use humor to tell uncomfortable truths to the king. Courtesy of the Onion: 20,000 Sacrificed In Annual Blood Offering To Corporate America WILMINGTON, DE—The nation looked on in reverence Friday as 20,000 citizens were decapitated, dismembered, and burned alive in the name of Corporate America, continuing the age-old annual rite to ensure bounteous profits in the coming fiscal year. “Corporate America has always provided us with plenty,” said... Read more
Part IX In the glorious Trinity, love shines forth: The Father gives his all to the Son And the Spirit henceforth Returns that love to the uncreated Origin. The cross reveals the self-sacrifice of love, And bids us to return that compassion, With love, to give it back to God above And to our neighbor without ration. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the... Read more
While I obviously don’t agree with him in every particular (he appears to be pro-choice, for example) I think his diagnosis of the central problem is basically right: the Democratic Party has allowed (even encouraged at times) the dismantling of the New Deal institutions that had been put in place to protect the economically vulnerable from the predations of greed and the power of the wealthy. I see the Tea Party movement (the rank and file, not the astroturfing financiers)... Read more
Until modern times, when science has demonstrated the way a child is formed in the womb, there were many debates as to when a foetus was said to be ensouled. Since the classical understanding of the soul is that it is an animating principle, the general answer was that a foetus was said to be ensouled when it was formed in a way that it resembled the human form and that it was moving in the womb. Until that point,... Read more
One of the terrible diseases which affects many of us is Alzheimer’s. Its devastating effects not only affects those who suffer it, but their loved ones as well. It is disheartening to see the person you knew become lost as a result of the disease. Will they recognize you? Will they remember your time with them? How well can they take care of themselves? The more the disease affects them, the worse answers one will get for these questions. It... Read more
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