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 [...]
In Evelyn Waugh’s "Sword of Honor" trilogy, the character Guy Crouchback has married a glamorous, but promiscuous woman. In doing so, he echoes the heroism of Hosea, who pictures God’s own faithfulness to his promiscuous people. The true sword of honor is not military glory, but Guy’s noble action of forgiveness. To illuminate and inspire [...]
The wilderness has been the refuge of spiritual seekers for thousands of years, and it is the Christian monastic tradition that shares the powerful insight that the hermit is never truly alone. Indeed, he is isolated from the rest of humanity in order to be alone with the One. I am not generally a fan [...]
That so many are still drawn by the fullness of the truth in the Catholic Church despite the present crisis is witness to her identity as “the one true fold” of Christ, and a book like John Beaumont’s offers encouragement and inspiration both to those who have already “come home to Rome,” and to those [...]
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were the richest of gifts that could be offered to a newborn king, but their significance lies not so much in their religious symbolism, nor in the fabulous wealth they represented. Instead the gifts themselves are clues to the identity of the wise men. In a recent, good-natured Christmas grumble in [...]
Do we use our increasingly sophisticated gadgetry and expanding knowledge in an elvish, creative, and artful way to foster beauty and truth? Or do we use technology to manipulate, make money, and gain more power in the world? One of the stress points of the modern age is the pace and power of technology. Will [...]
When the demythologization of the Christmas story is completed, we find in the infancy narratives of Luke and Matthew stories that are rooted in eyewitness accounts. It is okay to decorate the Christmas tree. It is my modest hope, however, that we will see the decorations for what they are, and in seeing them, appreciate [...]
The Nativity is an outrage. God who is outside of time should not step into time. God the omnipotent should not become a helpless child. God the all-knowing should not empty himself and lock himself into the limitations of mortality. However, it is the incredible outrage of it all that gives one pause. After all, [...]
Santa Claus should be part of our Christmas as long as it is not the main part. He’s not central. He is part of the wider celebration—part of the extra decoration. His focus on children and gifts is a reminder of St Nicholas’ rescuing of children with gifts. Some time ago a pastor friend of [...]
That the Holy Family were homeless on that chilly December night is part of the received Nativity narrative. The image of the poor mother and child, and the panicked father seeking an emergency delivery room appeals to the parenting instincts in all of us. But is the story true? Having received some pushback in these [...]
It is important that we put away the tinsel and the lights, and for the Little Drummer Boy to put away his drum, so that we may see the story of the birth of Jesus Christ with as much historical accuracy as possible. Now is the time for a cringe-confession. I was once the Little [...]
The strongest point of Netflix's series "The Crown" is that it shows the moral decline of Britain and the West through the moral decline of one British family. As such, it is a sad and searing witness to the same state of fractured families and mutilated marriages we face across the waning West. Having completed [...]
Sally Thomas' "Works of Mercy" is a lovely, quiet novel, in which the style, tone, and content fit together like hand in glove. The author’s understated, personal, poetic style reminded me of the novels of Susan Hill or Barbara Pym—both novelists who dwell within the world of feminine emotions without being indulgent, sentimental, or quaint. [...]
Disembodied spirits exist, but do they have the power to manifest themselves in an ephemeral way to living human beings? My sister must have been eight or nine years old when she reported the strange sighting. We lived among the rolling hills of Southeastern Pennsylvania. The area was steeped in history, and the local lore [...]