More than a theological treatise, Sigrid Undset's novel "Olav Audunssøn" remains a true love story, one in which we find a reflection of our own story with a God whose love and mercy are pursuing us even now. Olav Audunssøn by Sigrid Undset Love is as strong as death, as relentless as the underworld (cf. Song 8:6). [...]
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the Marian dogmas and mysteries of the rosary that is a mystery in more than a devotional sense. Non-Catholic Christians will declare that it was only invented by the Catholic Church in the twentieth century. To be sure, the dogma was defined by Pope Pius [...]
Better than any historian, storyteller Gertrud von le Fort brings her unique genius for laying bare the human heart in making sense of and finding redemption amid the horror of human suffering. Is there a Catholic home in America that does not display an Infant of Prague watching over the family from the top of [...]
Continuing my series of sonnets ‘Sounding the Seasons’ of the Church’s year, here is a sonnet for the feast of the Transfiguration when we remember how the disciples, even before they went to Jerusalem to face his trials with him, had a glimpse of Christ in his true glory. The Transfiguration is usually celebrated on [...]
That is a good thought, my dear boy: Satan does not sleep till noon. No no no. Keep that uppermost in your mind before retiring each night and you will find that in a surprisingly short time you will be bounding out of bed in the morning. Rising will become, not a chore, but a [...]
All great literature, in poetry and prose, is part of the great conversation which has animated Western civilization for almost three thousand years. Anything purporting to be literature which owes nothing to this great conversation is rootless and meaningless. It is not worth reading because it was not worth writing. It has nothing to say. [...]
Two themes (among many) lurk behind almost every corner in Ray Bradbury's fictional soul: dystopian conformity and autumnal imagination. An American original, Ray Bradbury will almost certainly enjoy a high reputation for centuries to come. The future will remember him for hundreds of short stories and at least four profound novels of gothic Americana: Fahrenheit [...]
Do you believe in a higher power, something that transcends the “human organism”? If this question is trivialized or ignored, we enter the very sound and soul of despair. Anthropology is the scientific study of human beings. Philosophy, literally translated, is the love of wisdom. Philosophical anthropology, then, is the scientific study of humans for [...]
Why is seeing "Pride and Prejudice" as Jane Austen saw it so important? The answer is simple enough. She knows the work better than anyone else. Jane Austen might be the greatest of all women novelists. Certainly, there are few others who can reasonably be said to deserve such an accolade. One thinks perhaps of [...]
The necessity of personal morality in a thriving community is denied by the enemies of the permanent things, who do not believe that there are permanent standards of behavior or indeed an unchanging human nature, and who seek to create political systems that will make everyone happy without much effort. Enemies of the Permanent Things: [...]
The 22nd of July is Mary Magdalene’s day, and continuing my sequence of sonnets written in response to the church year I post this for her. As usual you can hear the poem by clicking on its title or on the ‘play’ button. This sonnet is drawn from my collection Sounding the Seasons, published by Canterbury Press [...]
Between the potency and the existence… falls the Shadow. These words of T. S. Eliot always come to mind whenever I find myself reading works in translation. The sad fact is that the pure potency of the original work in its original language is lost in its translation to another tongue. And yet, for those [...]
In "Pride and Prejudice," Elizabeth Bennet is vehement that the character of the person must be determined in order to make a good choice. While spouses may change over time in superficial ways, the essentials remain constant. While one may hope for the conversion of a scoundrel or a fool, it is not worth banking [...]
Inspired by a true story, Andy Fowler's "The Condemned" tells the tale of an American priest in a small, northern Mexican town beset by cartel violence. But running throughout all of it is the peace of God that may seem hidden and passes understanding, saving those who dare to turn away from the dark to [...]