We finished the Jules Verne biography on the way home from Maine (now's not the place for a full review, but basically it was about six hours of an interesting study stretched to twelve by a good deal of repetition, the biographer going off on his own pet theories, and his harping on Verne's sex … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: On Mercy
Sunday Thoughts
Sunday Thought
At the end of the day, religion is a present thing. You can talk about history, the Bible, prehistory, and so on and so forth, but all that is secondary compared to what is happening right here and right now while you are at prayer or receiving the Sacraments. Just like when you meet someone, … Continue reading Sunday Thought
Sunday Thoughts
J.R.R. Tolkien, in (I think) On Fairy Stories made the point that children are not a special class of people (akin to women, men, Englishmen, Americans, etc.), but just people at a particular stage of development. Which is to say, it's misleading to say "children like this" or "children do that" just as it's misleading … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts
Sunday Thoughts: On Humility
I think one of the biggest challenges in religion that we face today is getting into the subordinate mindset. At least I find it so. Between science and liberalism, we're used to standing in an ostensibly superior position, where our judgment and our opinions are what really matter. We expect to be able to 'see … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: On Humility
Sunday Thoughts; A Paradox of Faith
There is a paradox inherent in the act of faith. On the one hand, belief in God involves us in innumerable logical difficulties, especially involving the nature of time and free will and their relation to eternity. Just as a simple example based on today's readings, it seems revolting to our feelings that we should … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts; A Paradox of Faith
On the Honesty of God
It is sometimes asked whether God couldn’t have just forgiven mankind by a direct miracle following the Fall. Whether He couldn’t have simply declared that man was saved and foregone the Cross. I’ve heard many people, including priests and writers I respect, saying that He could have, but chose the Cross for other reasons. With … Continue reading On the Honesty of God
Words of the Saints: St. Augustine on Beauty
"Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air, amply spread around everywhere, question the beauty of the sky, question the serried ranks of the stars, question the sun making the day glorious with its bright beams, question the moon tempering the darkness of the following … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. Augustine on Beauty
Words of the Saints: St. Thomas Aquinas on Revelation
From Summa Conta Gentiles, Book one, Chapter Five, on why it's fitting for some things to be accepted as revelation (emph. mine: St. Thomas didn't often use bold typefaces): "Again, this truth needed to be proposed to man as an object of faith so that he may have truer knowledge of God. For we only … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. Thomas Aquinas on Revelation
Sunday Thoughts: Preparing to Prepare
I am not going to talk about the election. What will happen is completely out of my power to influence and I don't think my, what, five readers have much influence either, or particularly care what I have to say on the subject. There was a surprisingly good homily at Mass today (my present situation … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: Preparing to Prepare
All Saints
The doctrine of the Communion of Saints is rather simple. It's that Christians don't leave the Church when they die. The work they began in this life doesn't end when they enter the next. We have a perspective problem in this life. In fact, it's very like being in high school (our education system has … Continue reading All Saints
Serpent's Den 