Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying a surprise visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi. Accompanied by his daughter Irina, Mr Gorbachev spent half an hour on his knees in silent prayer at the tomb.His arrival in Assisi was described as “spiritual perestroika” by La Stampa, the Italian newspaper. “St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ,” said Mr... Read more
This Holy Week, I am reminded of the man I admire second only to my late father: John Paul II. His words, actions, and love through the course of his life are a profoundly beautiful example of Christian charity and service. And as death approached, he taught us how to age and pass away with dignity. His words and deeds produced profound and lasting effects among hugely varied audiences. When John Paul spoke on economic and social policy, he addressed... Read more
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Here is a fine post by Rod Dreher at Crunchy Con, writing about Andrew Bacevich’s article in The American Conservative, on how the conservatives since Reagan have actually pursued policies inimical to true conservatism. He’s asking for conservatives to comment on the article; conservative Vox Nova readers, please do! A selection from Bacevich: For conservatives to hope the election of yet another Republican will set things right is surely in vain. To believe that President John McCain will reduce the... Read more
Holy Thursday ends Jesus’ preaching ministry and leads directly to his passion. A great number of events happen in one day’s time. They tell us much about Jesus and his love for us. Despite what he knew was going to happen, despite the fact that he knew he was going to be betrayed, and not just by Judas, he instituted the priesthood and gave his closest disciples his very being in the Mystical Supper. “Now as they were eating, Jesus took... Read more
Thanks to Eric Scheske for listing Vox Nova among his favorite Catholic political blogs in his column entitled “It’s a Political Jungle in There” at the National Catholic Register (H/T: Jay Anderson and Catholics in the Public Square). Eric maintains his own blog, The Daily Eudemon, which was one of the inspirations behind starting Vox Nova. Read more
Given how people gave Alexham a hard time about his God Bless America post, to put things in perspective, I thought I would share a traditional song from Venezuela that we learned since we were very little. The translation of the song is mine and is meant to be literal and by no means an impressive attempt on my part to do justice to the rhymes contained in the song. The lyrics may not make as much sense when translated,... Read more
Liberalism…does of course appear in contemporary debates in a number of guises and in so doing is often successful in preempting the debate by reformulating quarrels and conflicts with liberalism, so that they appear to have become debates within liberalism, putting in question this or that particular set of attitudes or policies, but not the fundamental tenets of liberalism with respect to individuals and the expression of their preferences. So so-called conservatism and so-called radicalism in these contemporary guises are... Read more
Lord, we pray for peace and justice for all. Amen. Read more
Shifting gears here at Vox Nova, I thought I would follow Henry by providing a more spiritual reflection in anticipation of the Easter Triduum. The question as to how grace saves is a divisive one. Here are some of my own thoughts: Colossians 1:15-24 contains what may appropriately be called not only one of Paul’s most profound and exalted Christological and ecclesiological teachings, but also one of his most illuminating insights on salvation. The passage forms, in my opinion, a... Read more
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