Once upon a time, a young girl loved to play with very delicate dishes. Her mother always warned her to be careful. “Make sure you don’t try to lift one that’s too heavy for you. If you do, it will slip and fall onto the hard tile and smash into pieces that will cut you.” … Continue reading Locks
Life
Evacuation
In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. Exodus 12:11 ____________ I kept my boots on from the moment I left my house to the time I returned. Everything was … Continue reading Evacuation
Freedom
The most scared I’ve ever been when my life was in my own hands was driving to a friend’s house this past weekend. There’s one place, an exit from one highway and entrance to another, that the lane lines disappear. Cars in front of me, cars on either side, cars behind me. And no lines … Continue reading Freedom
The Politics of Envy
He kept cutting off all the tallest ears of wheat which he could see, and throwing them away, until he had destroyed the best and richest part of the crop. Herodotus’s The Histories, Book 5, Chapter 92. ____________ The Politics of Envy Democracy is a jealous tyrant The French aristocrat Alexis de Toqueville studied American … Continue reading The Politics of Envy
Five Good Reasons to Avoid Being Educated
Interesting question: Is education--real education--worth it?
Gardens
Song of Songs: The voice of my beloved! Behold he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, … Continue reading Gardens
Eclipse
Then came the Witch’s voice, cooing softly like the voice of a wood-pigeon from the high elms in an old garden at three o’clock in the middle of a sleepy, summer afternoon; and it said: “What is this sun that you all speak of? Do you mean anything by the word?… Can you tell me … Continue reading Eclipse
Crisis
Crisis comes from the Greek word “krisis” meaning “decision”. It came to be used in medieval medicine for the turning-point in a disease; the moment when either the patient or the illness gains the upper hand. In modern English, a crisis is a moment that demands decisive action. ____________ Crisis Moments of crisis are brought … Continue reading Crisis
Personhood: Part Three
This is my final installment in my three-week series on personhood. First, I wrote Part One: Personhood—Relational Being. Last week, I wrote Part Two: Personhood—Fallen Individuals. Today, I will focus on Part Three: Personhood Redeemed. In part one, I talked about what it might mean to think of the human person as a relational being. … Continue reading Personhood: Part Three
Confirmation
"What do you stand for?" That was the question that Bishop Robert Barron put to the Confirmandees who had gathered to “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It’s a good question for anyone to ask themselves. What do I stand for? ____________ Confirmation Make firm In Confirmation, the Bishop invokes the Holy … Continue reading Confirmation
A Grain of Salt 