Thou waitest for the spark from heaven! And we, Light half-believers of our casual creeds, Who never deeply felt, nor clearly willed Whose insight never has borne fruit in deeds, Whose vague resolves never have been fulfill’d; For whom each year we see Breeds new beginnings, disappointments new; … Read more
“A man who has no assured and ever present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him … Read more
Here’s something strange. Just when you thought women had cast off the last of their chains, it turns out that they are rushing headlong back into bondage. Female enthusiasm for a sadomasochistic “romance” called Fifty Shades of Greyhas seen tens of thousands of suburban mums downloading copies from Amazon and now snapping up hard copies … Read more
“The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” In this one of his most famous lines, Robert Louis Stevenson presents us with a metaphor of the child as a king and the world as his vast domain. This image of the child king … Read more
Last summer Republican proposals to reform Medicare inspired the Democratic public relations machine to new heights of hyperbole, the most hyperbolic showing a look-alike of congressman Paul Ryan unceremoniously dumping grandma off a cliff. The clear implication is that the Democrats care and Republicans are simply nasty. But who is really killing grandma and does … Read more
I do not enjoy cartoons. I did when I was a child, but that was long ago. If I am surfing the channels and Bugs Bunny pops up, I keep going. Nonetheless, strange as it may seem, when there is a child on my lap, I happily revisit my nearly forgotten days of yore. My … Read more
The prospect of “redecorating,” or any other form of “home improvement,” generally gets me thinking, quickly, about a lengthy research trip abroad. Yet I can, and recently did, spend several pleasant hours contemplating ceramics, furniture, and–would you believe it?—wallpaper. But not at Home Depot, I quickly add; rather, in a book, Pugin: A Gothic Passion, … Read more
“What’s the secret to comedy? Timing!” My director told me this again and again during rehearsals for a comedic play. It’s true. All comedians know this rule, whether intuitively or because they have the same director as I had. Daniel Tosh is no exception. He recently had a young lady named Marion Jones on his show Tosh.O. … Read more
Over the last forty years, the pro-life movement has had its ups and downs. Since the Supreme Court made abortion a so-called “right” in 1973, the number of legal abortions skyrocketed from around 700,000 at that time to 1.6 million in 1990. Recent statistics however show young people are more pro-life than ever, and across the country states (in addition to … Read more
In the New York Times recently, there was a story about Nigeria’s ongoing population explosion and the terrible consequences that are flowing from it. According to the headlines, Nigeria is being “tested” by its rapid population growth and it is seen as a “preview of an overcrowded planet”. This population explosion will see Nigeria grow to 300 … Read more
Easter Sunday has come and gone, but the liturgical season of Easter is just beginning. The 50 days of Easter, which last until Pentecost, are an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the resurrection for your faith—much the same way that the 40 days of Lent is a call to enter into the deeper … Read more
If a decree like the HHS contraception mandate was issued during the Medieval era, Archbishop Dolan would probably have declared Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “anathema” and excommunicated her from the Church (see this famous scene from the movie Becket for an example). If President Obama was a tyrannical monarch in that era, he would be muttering … Read more
A couple of weeks ago a retired Greek pharmacist shot himself outside the country’s parliament in protest at austerity measures that include major cuts to pensions. But alongside this story of despairing protest comes news of youths who are adapting to their country’s plight by getting back to basics. Applications to the American Farm School … Read more
President Obama has called them “knuckleheads”. A CNN columnist says the actions of a dozen Secret Service agents in Colombia amounted to “stupidity”. United States Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the episode, also involving military personnel, was a “huge disappointment”. The official message seems to be that consorting with prostitutes in Colombia while on … Read more
Who among us does not long to go back and witness first-hand certain moments in Catholic history? Certain decisive moments. Here are a few of mine: On the eve of the battle of Lepanto, Don John of Austria silenced his quarrelling admirals without raising his voice. “Gentlemen,” he said. “The time for counsel has passed. … Read more
It is now twenty years since the publication of Centesimus Annus, yet only halting steps have been made towards an adequate reception of it. In his concluding remarks to that great encyclical, the Holy Father warned that the Church’s social teaching was no mere theory, “but above all else a basis and a motivation for … Read more
When Hilary Rosen said that Ann Romney had “actually never worked a day in her life,” she probably didn’t expect the reaction her comment would generate. Defenders of Ms. Rosen have tried to convince us that she misspoke or we misunderstood. One might excuse Ms. Rosen if she were a neophyte to the political scene, … Read more
In my work as a social conservative, I have been puzzled by some of the rhetorical strategies of my opponents. Sometimes I feel my head spinning, as if I have been going around in circles, with no obvious conclusion in sight. I have been seeking the key to understanding them, a Rosetta Stone that will … Read more
Individualism and community are the opposite halves of the American character. For every myth of the self-made man, there is the image of the closely knit New England small town. For every lone cowboy on the frontier, there are the social, political, and cultural groups that Americans have formed since the beginning of the Republic. … Read more
Shadows and Light Did Muhammad exist? It is a question that few have thought to ask, or dared to ask. For most of the fourteen hundred years since the prophet of Islam is thought to have walked the earth, almost everyone has taken his existence for granted. After all, his imprint on human history is … Read more