Like St. John Henry Newman, of whom he was the greatest living scholar, Fr. Ian Ker possessed a wicked wit, which he was certainly not afraid to deploy in public or private. He could also be fierce in defending the honor of Newman and Christ’s Church against unfair or dishonest critics. Though the pictures accompanying [...]
Fr. Marvin O’Connell was that rare historian who understood both the present and what the future demands. Calling for “a return to the Catholic ghetto,” he hoped his coreligionists would discover what living out the Catholic faith meant in a secularizing America. Telling Stories That Matter: Memoirs & Essays by Marvin R. O’Connell. edited by [...]
If you’re looking for something for yourself or to give your nineteen-year-old to read, Siobhan Nash-Marshall's "George" is for you. Yes, this St. George does indeed face a dragon—rather, the Dragon—but only after undergoing a discovery of faith that is simultaneously a discovery of the philosophical lies and half-truths that have wreathed the world in [...]
American history is a subject that has suffered from bad teaching, and public education in general is profoundly deforming in so many ways these days. This is why John Niemann, a veteran teacher at classical schools in the Twin Cities, saw a need several years ago and met it with the Saint John Paul II [...]
Though an apostle of joy and common sense, Chesterton’s work, especially his stories, has hideous and frightening images running through from beginning to end. What is the place of the grotesque, the nihilistic, and evil itself in his work? The Dark Side of Chesterton: Gargoyles and Grotesques, by John C. Tibbetts, with a foreword by [...]
The fault of polarization is not in our stars or even our social media constellation of follows and followers. It is, alas, in ourselves. Rather than give people advice about “civil discourse” or “ways to have productive conversations leading to truth"—which might well produce peace, some shared knowledge, or even humility—I want to help Imaginative [...]
Everybody agrees student loan debt is a large problem, having serious adverse effects on family formation, purchasing of houses, and many other aspects of American life. So, what should we do? Everybody agrees student loan debt is a large problem. In the United States approximately $1.5 trillion is currently owed by around 45 million people [...]
External shackles we will always have with us. Internal ones are the more worrisome, for they are the ones we forge ourselves. My all-too-modern soul requires a great deal of fasting from news, memes, and viral videos lest I develop eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and a mind that merely bobs [...]
As we start a new chapter of life after our move from Minnesota to Texas, I have a new goal for us. From now on, we are to switch our minimalism from Money to Things. No more acceptance of free things that will make our house less free. Henceforth and forevermore, we are no more [...]
All serious Christian believers have an obligation to support those who are fighting for the truth in their own communions. We ought to take our cue from St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican who became Catholic, and who still engaged with other Christians—not only about doctrinal differences, but also about areas of agreement. The tiny [...]
Like Beowulf, we can fight the dragons in our lives with joy and hope, for the Great Dragon had his death blow on the original D-Day when a man walked out of a tomb two thousand years ago. The Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullman famously compared the death and resurrection of Christ to D-Day. After the [...]
One of the best contemporary memoirs I’ve read in the last decade is My Grandfather’s Son, which was published in 2007. In his tale that ended with the fierce 1991 confirmation battle for his seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas told a remarkable story of his journey from being raised by a single [...]
Every bishop, priest, and pastor should read "Endgame" for the sake of the Church and the country. Much evangelization assumes things taught in families that don’t exist. This book shows the way to family—and renewed faith. Endgame: The Church’s Strategic Move to Save Faith and Family in America, by John Van Epp and J. P. [...]
Following the Way of Goodness and living in the Life that is true Beauty is absolutely essential. The deepest contemplation of great truths and even the Truth Himself is ultimately worth nothing if it does not issue in action and love. Congratulations, Trinity class of 2022! You are finishing something extraordinary. And when I say [...]