FEL S-092 (1967) The ink (printed or handwritten) had barely dried on the Second Vatican Council's documents when Catholic composers and artists began to write songs for what we call the "old folk Mass" but what was revolutionary then. Leading the pack (in quantity at least) was Paul Quinlan, S.J., who produced an enormous number …
The EU Drives Swedes to Drink
Literally, it has gone up significantly since joining the undemocratic, Procrustean experiment: “Sweden’s alcohol policy is more liberal than 25 years ago, and consumption is 20-25 per cent higher than before we joined the EU.” And this, mind you, with all the tee-totaling Muslim immigrants... I saw this in action because Finland also has serious …
Filet-o-Fish, Fast Food's Gift to Lent
Believe it or not, that's how it got started: The 1960s were early days for McDonald’s and Groen was struggling to make ends meet. So he cast around for a new idea, and spotted that another restaurant was pulling his missing Catholic customers in selling fish. So he put some fried fish in a bun, …
Reflection: Sounds of Salvation
Reflection RL 310 (1974) If there's one genre that's mostly AWOL from the "Jesus Music" era, it's prog. To a great extent that's still the case; a major exception is this dance troupe, which sets their Christian dance to some very good prog music. We've featured prog on this site (especially this.) But at the …
An Anglican Divine Gets the Point
Growing up at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church was my first exposure for the rector to have an earned doctorate. That exposure came from Hunsdon Cary, who "oversaw" the beginning of the Church Mouse resale shop and whose relatives got the property boot from Jon Bruno. This has generally not been the case with the churches I …
Painting Ourselves into a Corner at "The Shack"
If our political chaos isn't enough to upset everyone, now we have the film version of William Taylor's The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity. It's created a great deal of controversy over its implied universalism, it's decidedly LDS portrayal of God as three embodied beings, etc. Personally the heart of the matter centres around the …
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The First Duty of a Christian Preacher
A pithy summary from R. de la Broise, Bossuet and the Bible, 1890, pp. 160-1: "To preach the word of God, to go hear the word of God," these are the expressive words of the Christian language. They neatly outline one of the distinct characteristics of preaching, one of the points which make the genre …
Jack Miffleton: With Skins and Steel
World Library WLSM-36-SM (1968) Jack Miffleton started out at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. That shouldn't be strange to regulars on this blog: it was also the starting point of the trio who produced Songs for the Masses. It's a pedigree that has largely been forgotten. And that's sad; this is a good folk production …
Soils in Construction, Now at Waveland
It’s official: the construction management textbook Soils in Construction, Fifth Edition by W.L. Schroeder, S.E. Dickenson and D.C. Warrington is now at Waveland Press. As someone who has dealt with contractors for his entire working career, I know that an understanding of the essentials of soil mechanics and foundations is crucial for successful–and profitable–completion of […] …
Some Lessons for Pentecostals from the "Recent Anglican War"
Those of you who are regular followers know that I have followed/participated in what I call the "Anglican Revolt," a term which comes from a North American perspective. Brewing for years, in 2003 it was detonated in full force by the ordination of V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man who subsequently went into and …
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Positive Infinity 