Lord, restore our hunger; revive our appetites that have gorged on the fake bread of disobedience, so that our hearts, like David’s, might sing to you with the new conviviality of the Bread of Life. Matthew 12: 1-8 shows us a dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees who spot the disciples plucking and eating ears [...]
This is the story of one unique night on which rivals Wolfgang Mozart and Antonio Salieri truly went head-to-head, performing newly composed, short operas back-to-back, at the request of Emperor Joseph himself. The rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Mozart is well known, being the subject of Alexander Pushkin’s play, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, and most [...]
Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. We must depend utterly on Him in the process of putting to death our every act of self-seeking, which is always an act of self-exaltation. Matthew 23: 8-12 again presents us with a set of aphorisms of the Lord. You are not to [...]
During his heyday, George W. Chadwick was the most respected American “serious” composer. His music conveys a feeling of old-time America in a way that most listeners can relate to and enjoy. If we are looking for a “usable past” in American music, there is no better place to start than G.W.C. How do we [...]
Today in America, people of faith are binding up the unraveled fabric of civil society in tangible ways. We hold the threads individually, but when they are bound together, we can reweave a picture of order and beauty in human souls, woven in the vibrant colors of love. People of faith have given our culture [...]
At the root of our personal vocations and the paths we take in our lives is this wider command, the universal call to holiness, to be conformed to the image of Christ, as adopted children of the Father so that He find in us the image of His son. Matthew 9:32-37 sees Jesus cure a [...]
Vivaldi's music draws our attention to divine mysteries unknown to Socrates, overlooked by the Scribes and Pharisees, and difficult even for Christ’s disciples to grasp. It offers us valuable assistance as we advance virtue by virtue to the brightness of the saints, pointing us to the sources of heavenly aid without which even the mightiest [...]
The organ is typically associated with bland church music, less favorite arrangements of Christmas carols, and haunted houses. But Mozart himself called it "the king of instruments," and if the daring listener wishes to venture into solo organ music for the first time, then R. J. Stove’s "The Gates of Vienna" is an ideal starting point. The Gates [...]
Please enjoy Barbara Elliott's presentation on "Catholic Imagination and Contemporary Culture," delivered at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. DSPT Fellow - Barbara Elliott's Presentation on Catholic Imagination and Contemporary Culture from DSPT on Vimeo. This lecture was first published here in March 2012. Dr. Barbara Elliott's presentation at the Third Annual Convocation of [...]
Awe reminds us that religion is itself a virtue, a part of justice, and it is especially owed to God and His great works. Yet awe is also connected to respect for the mystery of any other person—be they divine or human. Luke 1: 57-66, 80 sees the birth of St John the Baptist. Like [...]
Some people want to make religion only a matter of the heart, and our spiritual activities an endless hamster wheel of devotions or noisy pedagogies. Yet, in truth, to come close to the Lord is to become still, to be filled with His silence and His love, so that His light might shine in our [...]
When we are made like Him through His grace, His sacraments, through prayer where we commune with Our Saviour, then, the call to be perfect as our heavenly Father is not so much an impossible and absurd imposition but an urging to follow the path with Christ, even to Calvary, even to the Cross, so [...]
We do not see or know ourselves as idolators, but that is because we do not know ourselves well enough, or see how we honour our wayward needs, pamper our desires, sacrifice important things on the bonfire of our own vanities, or place ourselves unconsciously ahead of God and neighbour. Mark 12: 28-34 marks a [...]
What is the duty of government? What are the rights of man in a civilized society? What is the purpose of law? Mortimer Adler, scholar of, and advocate for, the Great Books, attempts to answer these questions and more in the following interview. Interposed with scenes of discussion from a seminar conducted at St. John's [...]