Darkling Fields of Arvon. Legacy of the Stone Harp: Book Two. By James G. Anderson and Mark Sebanc. Wake Forest, NC: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2010. 424 pp. Review of Book One. As this is the second volume of a series, readers coming into the book are expected to have read the first volume. This, here, is an asset, because the first volume set up the world of Ahn Norvys, and to do that, it required a considerable amount of exposition... Read more
H/T Fr. James Martin, SJ Read more
In the celebration of Mass the chief ways in which Christ is present in his church emerge clearly one after the other. First, he is present in the very assembly of the faithful, gathered together in his name; next, he is present in his word, with the reading and explanation of Scripture in the church; also in the person of the minister; finally, and above all in the eucharistic elements. In a way that is completely unique, the whole and... Read more
As I’ve noted previously, there is a tendency to substitute ego stroking for intelligent analysis. With social analysis, this is the tendency to explain a phenomenon as being caused because the protagonist is more beautiful, more thoughtful, more caring, etc. Conversely, the explanation can be that the antagonists are idiots, ugly, or cruel. The problem isn’t so much that these things can’t be explanations. The problem is the presumption of malice combined with almost no foundation for supporting that presumption.... Read more
“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6 To the folks out there who think of guns as Magical Totems of Manly Power (and for the record, I speak as a gun-owning deer hunter, okay?): A gun is not a penis. It is also not, by... Read more
So, um, buy Canadian dollars? Interview with Chris Hedges on CBC’s The Current I thought this might interest our readership here at Vox Nova. I know I’m interested in your take. Brett Salkeld is a doctoral student in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He is a father of two (so far) and husband of one. Read more
Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. Ecc. 4:1 RSV But most foolish, and more miserable than an infant, are all the enemies who oppressed thy people. Wis. 15:14 RSV The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of... Read more
Richard R. Roach, S.J. Ph.D. Requiescat in pace Read more
Part VI From self-love, we have gone down the path of godless pride, Seeking to make the world in our image as if we were god. So, quaking in fear, from the divine eye we try to hide, Expecting, as divine retribution, a strike of the disciplinary rod. The world is, and yet it is not as it should be; From the fall of one comes the fall of many: And what is meant to be, we do not see... Read more
Against perhaps my better judgment, I am going to write about the situation in Platteville. The situation began like all these situations do with the transfers of priests. For whatever reason, we don’t place priests in parishes and let them die in those parishes. It varies, but the norm I’m familiar with is that priests serve a parish for 4-year terms and typically serve up to two terms. This is contrary to the Canonical ideal, but such may be modified... Read more
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