One of my mentors in becoming a Christian was, at one point, barely able to feed his family because of a degenerative back condition, which prevented him from working and which would normally have led to paralysis. Because of this, his family was very poor and lived without many amenities the rest of us are [...]
Victims of obsession, like Bilbo, struggle to see reality clearly, and even more to make the necessary choices. The exorcist, like Gandalf, helps the victim recognize what he is doing that enables the diabolical activity—in this case, keeping the ring—and to renounce whatever it is. “He said that it was ‘growing on his mind,’ and [...]
Patience encourages us to accept humbly that we will not be as good as soon as we want to, due to being part of the fallen world. This understanding need not lead to despair, but rather to hope, for if we keep patiently at it, eventually we will look back on the struggle as well [...]
In one of his last writings, Pope Benedict XVI afforded a key insight into the conservative ideal. Though he was writing as a Catholic about Catholic problems, the late pope’s reflections are truly universal. Speaking directly to the sexual abuse crisis that reached fever pitch during his pontificate, Benedict observes: “The crisis caused by the [...]