If one wants to understand what is wrong with the United States, there are many places we can go. We can look at the lack of social cohesion which makes people work for the common good. We can look at the fast-paced consumerism which embraces a quick buy and trash mentality, so that the nation is becoming a nation of trash: easily bought, easily discarded trash. If Gehenna is a trash dump, then America, by becoming one large trash dump,... Read more
Introduction and Part II “The truly devout soul knows the God of all. True devotion is simply to do God’s will. This means to gain knowledge of God by being free from envy, self-restrained, gentle, as generous as possible, kindly, not quarrelsome, and by acquiring whatever else accords with God’s will.”[1] The “material passions” are overcome by knowledge of God. [2] “As long as ignorance of God is present in the soul, the passions remain incurable and rot the soul... Read more
As part of diaconate formation, we are embarking on a close reading of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I imagine that as we go through it, a variety of interesting questions will come up. Here is the first: the CCC starts with a discussion of the knowledge of God. While avoiding the trap of philosophical “proofs” of the existence of God, it sketches some plausible arguments that show that by natural reason alone we can come to the knowledge... Read more
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A story from Ohio: ‘I’ve always wanted to have a baby,” said [Christa] Dias as she held her wish-come-true in her arms in their Withamsville home. ”I’ve always known that. That’s why I became a teacher, because I love kids. ”I didn’t think it would be a problem.” But it was for her employers, Holy Family and St. Lawrence schools in East Price Hill, who fired Dias in October 2010 because the single woman was 5 1/2 months pregnant and... Read more
This post is really easy to write, as somebody else has done the work! John Gehring has written a fantastic piece, detailing the many ways in which Santorum’s views deviate from Church teachings on so many important issues. But I admit to grudging respect for Santorum. He is well-intentioned, and sincerely believes what he says – a vast improvement over the corporate ghoul that is currently the Republican front-runner. But I fear that he is just as influenced by the flawed theology of... Read more
Last night, libertarian Ron Paul came in a close third in the Iowa Republican caucuses. In his combative concession speech, Paul quoted a supporter who recently told him that he awaits the day when a President says, “We’re all Austrians now,” referring to the laissez-faire capitalist ideology of Friedrich Hayek (and recalling Richard Nixon’s famous quote, “We’re all Keynsians now”). But I wonder what Paul and his supporters make of the followinq quote from Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, and... Read more
This may just be a Catholic way of posing what is essentially a Mennonite question, but a passing reference to exceptionalism has got me thinking. As I have tried to argue elsewhere, any form of nationalism audacious enough to claim the glory that belongs to God alone is profoundly subverted by the orthodoxy (in the sense of right worship) that pervades the Mass. And I would go so far as to add that within a Christian worldview, all national exceptionalism (American or... Read more
I got forwarded a link to this video and I was really blown away. I will confess that I was in tears by the end of it. I have been trying to come up with some commentary that didn’t sound trite and have been failing miserably. Therefore, I am going to let the film speak for itself. Watch this video! Read more
As you may have noticed, Julia Smucker has become an official Vox Nova contributor following two very well-received guest posts and a unanimous vote of confidence from the gang in the “back room.” We are all excited to have Julia on board and look forward to many years of collaboration – and, yes, some friendly contention – with the newest member of our odd little online community. Welcome Julia! Now, a look back at 2011. WordPress sends out an annual statistics summary... Read more
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