Cain and Abel: It’s all about mediocrity Monday’s reading for the Christian liturgy is a Genesis passage most Jews and Christians recall with ease. Abel’s dead, the Lord comes looking for him and asks Cain where Abel is. Cain’s reply? “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Remember the song, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother? Even back in […]
Cain and Abel: It’s All About Mediocrity Read More »
EWTN, Mother Angelica and Miracles Because I had what my friend Jack Capparro vividly termed “the grunge,” I isolated mself last week and didn’t leave the house…at all. For a daily Communicant like me, missing daily Mass feels like sin. And then I remembered EWTN’s daily eight am Masses with the Franciscan Missionaries of the
EWTN, Mother Angelica and Miracles Read More »
The heart-brain coherence Our medicalized culture has trained us to think of our hearts as an IED. It’s only a matter of time until the coronary arteries occlude and cause the big bang. Instead of enjoying a steak, we force ourselves to prefer chicken and fish. Since the worldwide primary cause of death is a
The Heart-Brain Coherence: How’s Your Heart? Read More »
Development versus Alteration: The crucial distinction Last Friday’s Office of Readings dealt with development versus alteration: the crucial distinction. Fifth-century monk, Saint Vincent of Lerins, writes enthusiastically of the development of doctrine. Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest
Development versus Alteration: The crucial distinction Read More »
Reclaiming the joy of wonder There are some weeks, like the one that just ended, where the end of the week looms. And still, I’ve no idea what to write about. But when I spied another lecture from the Institute of Catholic Culture:. Let them be reborn in wonder. my interest peaked, due to the
Reclaiming the Joy of Wonder Read More »
Moderation: A forgotten legacy from President Eisenhower We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations….we yet realize that America’s leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the
Moderation: A Forgotten Legacy from President Eisenhower Read More »
Lack of gratitude Recently, I confessed my consistent failures in praying a nightly examination of conscience. Then I asked if the priest could make some suggestions. Father Charlie Banks replied, “Conscious examen” suggesting a review of the day, starting with the good things, giving thanks for them. Then on to those that hadn’t been so
Lack of Gratitude: The Deadliest Sin Read More »
Goal of education Although it was a zillion years ago, I well recall my casual summer date’s, “Why liberal arts? What can you do with a degree in English literature?” In just a month, I was moving to Houston to work my way through college for a degree in English literature. I’d spent three years
Goal of Education: To be Fit for Modern World Or? Read More »
Return to right reason “How are you?” I stared at him, choked by the avalanche of tears threatening to erupt. Steve, my former doctoral advisor and head of dissertation committee, nodded and said, “Come see me.” I’d just completed a talk on medical ethics bolstered by my dissertation research.. My professional life was at an
Return to Right Reason Read More »
Hillsdale College- Last Days of a Revolutionary: eight-minute video that warrants your time. American exceptionalism: Constitution and Bill of Rights A few weeks ago, a newsletter called “Texas Minute” showed up in my inbox. After providing snippets of state news, author Michael Quinn Sullivan wrote about historian Mellen Chamberlain’s 1887 interview with the last surviving
American Exceptionalism: Constitution and Bill of Rights Read More »