We are in a civilizational crisis, one that is the outworking of anthropological mistakes that have long festered. Increasingly in the history of Western culture we have forgotten or ignored or misconstrued, not only mimesis, but what is perhaps the most essential fact of human existence, namely, religious longing. Theologian Gil Bailie was a personal [...]
I gaze out the window for a few moments, and in that delicious solitude it dawns on me why I dislike museums. The collections are cold and clinical. They have restored and displayed the treasures as a mortician embalms and prepares the corpse for a viewing. The holy pictures have been plucked from their ecclesiastical [...]
The secret of Jane Austen’s genius is that she conceals the most serious of themes within light-hearted tales: true repentance and regret. Our own vanity and egotistical deceptions are revealed, and having been made self-aware, we stop and laugh and realize that our delight has filled us with light. Along with Granada Television’s Brideshead Revisited, [...]
In the wasteland of our contemporary culture, in both the church and the world, students and seminarians would do well to read Tom Howard. His essays will give them a fresh perspective, deeper insights, and a broader vision. Pondering the Permanent Things: Reflections on Faith, Art, and Culture, by Thomas Howard, edited by Keith Call [...]
The Florentine Pieta was not commissioned. Instead, Michelangelo intended it for his own tomb. He worked on the sculpture in his spare time, late into the night with a candle fixed to his hat for light. The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo is an unmissable new sight in a visit to Florence. Designed by American art [...]
Sentimentalism—the rule of individualistic emotion—ends by destroying not only the good and beautiful emotions of the individual, but also the individual himself and the society in which he lives. In the late 1980s I was a minister in the Church of England, when the entire denomination was embroiled in a debate about women’s ordination. Much [...]
Jane Austen didn’t take herself or her novels seriously, and neither should we. That’s why they pack such a punch. It is their understated passion that simmers below the surface that so enchants us. For the character to be too self-aware and serious is to betray the self-effacing spirit of Austen and her work. The [...]
In our own age, threatened by plague, economic uncertainty, barbarism, religious wars and corruption, the quiet optimism and faith of Julian of Norwich are a sweet tonic which brings re-assurance, hope, and a quiet confidence. In the English city of Norwich there are two Gothic cathedrals: one medieval and Anglican, the other neo-Gothic and Catholic. [...]
At the heart of "Gran Torino" is the portrayal of a good man. Too often good characters are simpering or squeaky clean; if not flawless their flaws are superficial traits plastered on top by a mediocre filmmaker. But Clint Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski comes across as authentic because of all the faults our society recognizes in [...]
There are few places in the world where I would rather take a vacation than Tuscany. Here are the birthplaces not only of Giotto, Leonardo, and Michelangelo, but the city of Dante, the heartland of popes, princes, and presidents. A visit to this blessed land immerses one in the history, art, cuisine, and culture of [...]
A good Catholic novel is true to life, and one of the most difficult truths is that some very bad people may continue in their evil—never in this life finding the repentance that might make for a happy ending. Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith's "The Chemist of Catania" is such a Catholic novel, showing us truth, but [...]
In the “David,” we see what Christian humanism can accomplish, and in contemplating the gigantic little boy we can remember that God always uses the little things of the world to confound the mighty. Last week I was in Florence, and while jostling with other sightseers to get a glimpse of Michelangelo’s David, I recalled [...]
With the current wave of decadence in Western society, we are witnessing an “abolition of man” more literal than C.S. Lewis ever could have imagined. The “transgender woman” is a man who has had his manhood literally abolished. Is this the much-hyped “transhumanism” that is being forecast? Are we destined to become a race of [...]
It would be wrong to compare the Mass too closely to a stage production, but in a traditional celebration of Mass there is what I call a “compendium of culture”: a combination of art, architecture, literature, logic, rhetoric, drama, poetry, metalwork, textile art, and woodwork. Why does this matter? It matters because matter matters. The [...]