My first article for an excellent new website is published today. Those Catholic Men is a site dedicated to helping strengthen Catholic men in their vocation and calling. The man who never made a mistake never made anything. Likewise, the man who never takes a risk never gets ahead. Whether it is starting your own business, getting [...]
My latest article for The Imaginative Conservative website analyzes the spiritual value of horror films: In The Heart of Darkness Conrad’s madman Kurtz whispers his last words, “The horror. The horror.” The novella is aptly named for it takes the reader into the heart of darkness and is thus a forerunner of the horror genre in literature and film. The horror genre [...]
Note: The following is what is called a ‘hymn’. A hymn has strong theology, beautiful poetry, noble and moving sentiments and a simple, worshipful and singable tune. This is not a praise song or a devotional ditty or a song which, if you changed the word ‘Jesus’ to ‘my baby’ could make it into the pop [...]
Can the religion of peace turn away from shooting schoolgirls in the head, slaughtering people on vacation, selling people into slavery and torching churches? William Kirpatrick writes here for Catholic World Report on the problems of identifying and assisting moderate, modernizing reform-minded Muslims. Given their circumstances, it’s unrealistic to expect the majority of Muslims to adopt [...]
Read Old Books Everything English at Suburban Hermit today An Anglican Prayer for Thanksgiving A post about Julian of Norwich--mystic and anchoress Whitby Abbey
Love That Lasts That's the question non-Catholics often ask. "What's the big deal? It's just sex. Why are Catholics so uptight about it?" The attitude among those asking the question reveals the current understanding of sexual activity: it's kind of like tennis--if you have a good partner you have a good game. In other [...]
Today at the Suburban Hermit I have posted: a beautiful video of life at the traditionalist monastery of Fontgomault in France, a quip by Old Monk on Obedience Commentary on Ch.7 of the Rule of St Benedict on humility reflections on Benedict's wisdom about silence and reverence in worship
Once again Pope Francis, in being pastoral and kind, has muddled things up and confused the faithful. His answer to a Lutheran woman married to a Catholic about receiving communion at Mass is ambiguous. Edward Pentin gives a full account here. The reason the pope's comments are fuzzy is that, on the one hand he says [...]
Everywhere I turn the talk is about the Syrian refugees and why we should take them or why we shouldn't. What I'm not hearing is much common sense or Christian charity. Why all the idiocy about the refugee crisis? I'm talking about the stupidity and lack of common sense by those who want to throw open our [...]
My latest article for CRUX examines the different approaches to the Bible among Catholics and Protestants The truth is simply that Catholics and Evangelicals use the Bible in different ways. Therefore they have different kinds of Bible knowledge. Evangelicals use the Bible as a source book for doctrine and right moral teaching, and that’s good. 2 Timothy [...]