Anamnesis Four-or more-syllable words are intimidating, like this one: anamnesis. But to lovers of words, this one means far more than remembering, recalling to mind. Or a psychological term indicating a return of lost memories. Wordsworth’s poem, Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, describes anamnesis without ever mentioning the word. Because it […]
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Knowledge is power The phrase, knowledge is power, is a well-known mantra. One that, for some, is unquestioned. It was Sir Roger Bacon who first wrote ipsa scientia potestas est in his Meditations. But much earlier, the Book of Proverbs attests to the strength of the wise man and the man with knowledge. The voices
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It is good for us to be here: Transfiguration The Transfiguration is the last miracle performed by Christ, marking the end of his days on earth. Peter, James and John are invited by Christ up to the peak of the mountain to pray. For weeks, he has warned his disciples that the Son of Man
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The shaking reality of Advent Amidst the Hallmark Christmas movies, red bows, tinsel, parties, Christmas music and ubiquitous political clamor, lurks a presence. A whisper deep in our hearts, in our psyches and in our souls. The phrase “the shaking reality of Advent” is not mine, but belongs to Jesuit Priest and martyr, Alfred Delp.
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The world: The Great Yes and the Great No It’s a cryptic but arresting phrase, isn’t it: The great yes and the great no? I tripped on it while searching for something online a couple of weeks ago. After listening twice to a twelve-year-old homily of Bishop Barron’s called—you guessed it—The Great Yes and the
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Photo Courtesy Mont Saint Michel Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael The stunning image is of Mont Saint Michel Abbey in Normandy, France, takes me back to a journey there before my conversion. That trip comes to mind because after my friend and I climbed the 350 steps to enter into the Abbey, we’d no idea
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Don’t blame the devil Soon after my conversion to Catholic Christianity, I discovered Saint Teresa of Avila. And I fell in love with her. Upon examining that statement, I realize it’s not hyperbole, but truth. Why? Among countless reasons, at this writing, it’s Saint Teresa’s admonition against blaming the devil for my weakness, laziness, and
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Climate Change: The Activists are both right and wrong The activists are right: our created world and everything in it is suffering and in danger. But the climate change activists are wholly wrong in their belief that ending fossil fuels, all carbon dioxide emissions, eating meat, or decreasing the population will fix us. No government,
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Little Great Friday… Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist… (Matthew 11: 11). Each year, on August 29th, the Christian liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist. Herod arrested John, “on account of Herodias,” his brother’s wife. The Baptizer publicly censured
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The razor’s edge of forgiveness “Forgive your enemies. “ Since forgiveness was just as unnatural 2100 years ago as it is now, the Apostle Peter seeks to bind it. You will recall that Peter was a pious Jew and knew the Mosaic law. The law from Leviticus, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and in both
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