…was crucified, died and was buried … When my nephew was getting ready for college he told me he was expected to write a paper in his first week entitled, “How do I know I exist?” After discussing the matter for some time he concluded that the best thing to do was to punch his professor [...]
In a nearby convent there was a nun who had taken to levitating during mystical prayer. The people were, of course, stupefied by this astounding miracle and were flocking to see the flying nun. The novices in Thomas' friary were just as excited as the others and dragged the great philosopher off to see the [...]
Whitby Abbey - "bare, ruined quires" Damian Thompson (who is probably one of the world's greatest journalists) write here about the decline of Christianity in Britain. The shrinking of those who identify as Christians is combined with a dramatic surge in the Muslim population. You can't disagree with the statistics: Since the last census [...]
I remember as a young priest I was visiting an older woman we'll call Veronica whose life was in chaos. She was grieving over a broken marriage. Her children were a disappointment. She had health problems and money worries. She had emotional and relational difficulties. In addition to this she talked too much. The poor soul [...]
Have you ever had to deal with a female work colleague or family member who, just as the argument got interesting, turned on the tears? Immediately they win. It's a not-too-subtle form of emotional blackmail. The tears shift the conversation away from reasoning and evidence and you have to stop and feel guilty and compassionate and [...]
In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Caroline says to Mr Bingley, I should like balls infinitely better, if they were carried on in a different manner; but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order [...]
Evelyn Waugh has been mis quoted as saying, "There are only two choices: suicide or Catholicism." I believe what he really said was in a letter responding to a friend who asked why, if the Christian faith was supposed to make you happy, Waugh was such a miserable character. Waugh replied, "If it weren't for my [...]
What kind of news have we witnessed over the last few months? A face-eating cannibal in Florida, a sadistic homosexual cannibal in Montreal who videos a murder, dismemberment and necrophilia then mails body parts to unsuspecting victims. Or shall we discuss the fact that the video is online for millions to view, and a public high [...]