Follow me, Christ says; and wherever the Master goes, there must the disciple follow. Mark 16:15-20 gives us the last scene in the gospel of St Mark, setting out Jesus’ final command to the apostles to preach the gospel, and promising that their work would be accompanied by miracles and signs. Then the Lord is [...]
We are not threatened by the socialism that does not work according to Western standards. We are threatened when socialism works, radiating its egalitarian and gray presence everywhere. The victory of socialist candidates in recent elections has highlighted the renewed appeal of the Marxist system. Some now see socialism as the wave of the future. [...]
J.R.R. Tolkien is not only the greatest mythmaker of the 20th century, he is our equivalent of Homer, Virgil, and Dante. Just as we read "The Divine Comedy" and come to understand the late Middle Ages, so will someone, five hundred years from now, read Tolkien to understand our era. I’ve had the opportunity to [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: THE WELCOMING INNKEEPER Let the compassion and generosity of the Innkeeper be your example by finding an opportunity to offer [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: ARRIVAL AT BETHLEHEM GATE On arriving at the gate of the city, share Mary’s joy at reaching her destination. Pray [...]
The “Aeneid” was only possible because the Roman people had the memory and consciousness to make it possible. It is up to us to ensure that its living well of memory doesn’t dry up. Without it, the “Aeneid” will pass into the dustbin of history like the corpses of Priam and Pompey. The grandest image [...]
If snow falls where you live – or if in warmer climes, you reach for your jacket – read "Ethan Frome" to mark the season, for winter hangs over the novella. Though many readers regard Edith Wharton's tale as one of a man tormented by the social tyranny of his New England community, it is, in [...]
What’s unnerving about Guillermo del Toro’s "Frankenstein" is that it embraces and glorifies the creature in ways that remind me, on one hand, of the Romantic valorization of Milton’s Satan, and on the other, of our contemporary headlong development of artificial intelligence. Like Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus (not a great play), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (not [...]
Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.—Romans xiii 11. Awake—again the Gospel-trump is blown— From year to year it swells with louder tone, From year to year the signs of wrath Are gathering round the Judge’s path, Strange words fulfilled, and mighty [...]
Like all genuine eccentrics, John Cyril Hawes was a blend of genius and madness. His fantastical, eclectic architecture captures the contradictions of the man: traditional, but modern; romantic but gritty and down-to-earth; artistic but tough; cantankerous but compassionate to the poor. He was a solitary hermit who became famous. Author Peter Anson—himself a convert to [...]
The shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham attracts 250,000 pilgrims every year. Truly it can be said, in the heavenly light of the shrine’s resurrection, that the Queen has returned. One of the most exciting fruits of the spirit of Walsingham is the new and dynamic Community of Our Lady of Walsingham. Bitter, bitter oh [...]
C.S. Lewis possessed an immense personality, the kind of personality that affected not only those around him, but also all those who came after him. Full of charisma and brilliance, he both attracted loyal friends and made bitter enemies wherever he went. Strangely enough, I didn’t come to C.S. Lewis as a person or as [...]
Do the so-called “Minor Prophets,” addressing their message some two thousand years ago to different kingdoms and crises, have significant relevance today? Is there any seed left in the barn? The vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still haven’t produced. But from now on I will bless you. —Haggai 2:19 I. The [...]
We are all brothers because of the love of God the Father for us. It turns out that brotherhood does not have to remain broken after sin. Jesus Christ, in showing us the love of the Father, reveals that true brotherhood is beatific. Brothers do not have a good record in the Bible. The book [...]