Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Today a great deal of Roman Catholic "folk" music used in parishes tends towards the bland and trite. Much of the blame for this can be laid at OCP's feet, and that fact has been an impetus towards the restoration of more "traditional" music in Masses, an impetus that has come from the Holy See …
Continue reading "Sister Juliana Garza: Mixed Expressions and Communion Muse"
From my Month of Sundays devotional booklet: …as is taught in the glorious Good News of the ever-blessed God, with which I was entrusted. — 1 Timothy 1:11 Blessed…we hear that expression so many times. We tell people to “Be blessed…” and hopefully people tell us that too. (The Wiccans turn that around and greet …
This is the last part of this magnificent sermon. The introduction is here, and the first point is here. Basically, Christians, in this oblivion of both God and herself into which she is plunged, the great God knows where to find her. He has heard her voice, at his pleasure, amid the noise of the …
The beginning of the sermon, with an introduction and links to the second point, is here. Man, which you see bonded to himself by his self-esteem, was not created with this defect. In the beginning, God made him in his image, and the name of the image that was proclaimed was not for himself. An …
There is simply no preacher of the Word who has the stature in English literature that Jaques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704) has in French. Although he is best known for his funeral orations and some of his polemical works, IMHO his best works are his devotional books such as Elevations on the Mysteries and the magnificent Meditations …
It's a new year, and in this case a new decade. It's hard to find anyone who is satisfied with the results of the last decade, all of the advances in science and technology notwithstanding (or perhaps because of these advances.) Perhaps the next one will be better; I'm not holding my breath. It's also …
Continue reading "Why I Don't Like the Manhattan Declaration"
I was expecting an eventual response to my piece Why I Don’t Agree With the Concept of the “Sacrifice of the Mass” and received it from Fr. Greg. You can find it here. In his response, he's shifted the discussion from the purely theological to the ecclesiological, and that brings up many issues. But let …
"American as Mother, apple pie and the flag" used to be an expression of things that united us in this country. Maybe that's why life in these United States has been a little too interesting for me: my mother and I didn't see eye to eye on many things, and when we were in the …
"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that should remain, so that the Father might grant you whatever you ask in my Name." (John 15:16) This verse deals with two important issues -- the nature of Jesus' calling and the nature …
If I ever write a "self-help" book, it will be All I Ever Knew About Politics I Learned From the French. (Click here for some of what I have actually written.) Watching the French makes one a cynic, and at times like this it holds one in good stead. My French teacher in prep school …
Continue reading "Barack Obama, the Edgar Faure of American Politics"
Positive Infinity 