For flighty, sentimental reasons, I will no longer be writing at Vox Nova. As I prepare to move from Wabash College to the University of North Dakota, into a new chapter of life, I think that the time has come for some change. To all who have read my work here over the years: thank you. I have benefited greatly from being present here. Yesterday, I gave my second and final “chapel talk” at Wabash: From “Adios” to “a Dios”:... Read more
Apropos of Kyle’s excellent earlier post, “Church and State: Still Learning This Whole Democracy Thing,” I direct your attention to an article by the atheist Slavoj Zizek that appeared last November on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In the piece, titled “Liberalism as Politics For a Race of Devils,” Zizek highlights a basic paradox of the liberal order: the more it takes hold of a given society, the more illiberal it becomes. In the “marketplace of ideas” that... Read more
ON Wednesday Evenings, I feed the homeless of Berkeley at a Lutheran Church near the Cal campus. I started doing this about a year and a half ago when a friend of mine, who was then just back into Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and sobriety after many years out, recommended the experience. Doing this has changed me. At first, it took some getting used to – the smells of people who sleep rough in the streets, who have no dental care,... Read more
Introduction and Part II “Man alone is capable of communion with God. For to man alone among the living creatures does God speak – at night through dreams, by day through the intellect. And He uses every means to foretell and prefigure the future blessings that will be given to those worthy of Him.”[1] For those properly disposed through faith and with a will to achieve their desire, one can gain spiritual insights about God. [2] “If you wish to... Read more
..when I find myself agreeing more with the Society of St. Pius X than the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops!! Read more
“Abba Moses asked Abba Silvanus, ‘Can a man lay a new foundation every day?’ The old man said, ‘If he works hard, he can lay a new foundation at every moment.’”[1] Most of us find ourselves attached to the past, to the time of the dead. We try to recreate the past, to raise up zombies while ignoring the life which lies before us today. Our ascetic struggles require us to move beyond the limitations of the past, from the... Read more
And so, the National Right to Life Committee has endorsed Romney. They do so “for the sake of unborn children, the disabled, and the elderly”. They do so because they believe the Affordable Health Care Act should be repealed, as this law “will result in federal funding of health plans that pay for elective abortion, and will lead to large-scale rationing of lifesaving medical treatments”. I’m sorry, but it’s hard to fathom a higher level of hypocrisy. Let’s go through the evidence.... Read more
There once was a man named John Ryan. He was an idealist who wanted to live out the adventure stories of old. He believed society had lost the edge of old, that it was not as fun as exciting as it could and should be. He loved stories about the Old West, but he didn’t think he could ever use a gun – it was too impersonal, too mechanical, too inhuman. On the other hand, he also loved the stories... Read more
Resolved: the sacrament of reconciliation should be reformed so as to give greater emphasis to the communal aspects of sin and reconciliation and less emphasis to the personal, private dimensions. In particular, general absolution in the absence of private confession should be regularly allowed. Okay, before the storm begins, let me make a few comments. I am actually ambivalent about this proposal: I can see pluses and minuses on both sides. I am more or less regular in receiving the... Read more
Today’s Gospel features the encounter of Jesus with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, which I think serves as a valuable image for the spirituality of Focolare foundress Chiara Lubich. I am recently becoming familiar with the thought and spirituality of Chiara and with the movement, and thus far I find its simplicity and radicality refreshing. It strikes me as a witness of the continued work of the Spirit of Christ in the world and of the Spirit... Read more
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