The ordinary daily life of men in Christian culture, who work not only in the sweat of their brows, but for the love of their families, there is also love of work. When men cut wood or go to war or make love to their wives, and when women spin or wash and reciprocate that [...]
In “The City of God,” Augustine systematically lays bare the empty ideology of the city of man and the Roman empire in a breathtaking counter-narrative that remains remarkably modern and relevant for today. In contrast to the city of man, the City of Love, Augustine argues, is the godly city to which Christians belong and [...]
My mother's life was too short. She loved Jesus and wanted to be like Him in every way. She understood the power that is inherent in holiness, even in weakness. And, ordinary woman that she was, she took part in that power. She spent time every day in the Scriptures because she believed that Jesus [...]
We are all born naked, but soon enough find ourselves wrapped in swaddling secrets. We learn to hide things and obfuscate, if not outright lie, about what we do and what we really want and even who we are. Our hypocrisies, infidelities, and staggering stupidities are woven into silken sails that allow us to effortlessly [...]
Something extraordinary occasionally breaks our modern isolation, and people come out of their worlds and communicate with others. The particular incident related here involved a normal boarding process with its mad rush to secure seats and overhead bin space. A baby at the back of the plane could not stop crying at the top of [...]
Love has inspired countless composers, some of whom have written pieces dedicated to, or directly inspired by, their own beloveds. Here are ten of the best musical love letters ever composed. 1. Wagner: Siegfried Idyll Though his reputation rests on his big, long, and loud mythological operas, Richard Wagner was also capable of composing on a [...]
Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” is many things: several stories, some bleak, some uplifting, ranging from the creation of the world to the apotheosis of Julius Caesar. Yet in its most fundamental form, his epic love poem of many stories reveals deep truths in its poetic proclamations of the transformative power, and spirit, of love. Ovid was one [...]
My Grandma knew that it was only Jesus who could change the world. Our job was, as the song had it, to “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way/to be happy in Jesus/but to trust and obey.” It has been 125 years since she was born and nearly 30 years since she died, and [...]
You hear over and over again how people wish they had just seen the person they love one more time, or done this or that for her before she died. But I had that for nearly a decade. I knew Sharon was dying, and I tried to make the most of it. On September 18, [...]
How can the use of reason lead to so much wrong-headedness? The answer is that wrong-headedness is always connected to wrong-heartedness. It is pride, the absence of love, which poisons the intellectual faculties, thereby preventing reason from serving its purpose of pursuing objective truth. There is a world of difference between wisdom and cleverness. In [...]
In “The Awakening of Miss Prim,” the title character’s awakening and education in the most natural ways of friendship illuminate for her the great wisdom and tradition of marriage, which modern education and ideology in their blatant ignorance have relegated to the past as a useless, unnecessary institution. In Natalie Fenollera Sanmartin’s bestseller The Awakening of [...]
During his final illness, Blaise Pascal often refused the care of his physician, saying: “Sickness is the natural state of Christians.” He believed that human beings had been created to suffer. Misery was the condition of life in this world. My uncle made book for a living. That is, he took money from those who [...]
Yesterday, At the home, Not her home, I found her sleeping Lying soft upon the mattress Curled up fetally on her left side, As almost always for 40 years past. I had forgotten, utterly the soft heaving of her breast, I had forgotten, totally that stone-calm face hiding a hundred hurts and a thousand worries. [...]
Beauty is not found in power, military glory, or victory. As great as these things are, love is a surer guide. Considering this point, we would also do well to contemplate what causes us to love most, love best? When we do, isn’t it the love that someone has for us? 1. Aesthetics Leads Aesthetics [...]