Forbidden fruit and its consequences This painting, Sarah Leading Abraham to Hagar by seventeenth century painter Matthias Stom is displayed in the Gimaldegalerie in Berlin. Even a quick look at the figures portrayed by the artist even briefly, conveys something unseemly, even odious. All too evident is the purpose of the intrusion of the elderly […]
Forbidden Fruit and Its Consequences Read More »
Death, Hope, Heaven, What are we here for, anyway? In my pre-Catholic ‘pagan’ years, I worried about death. Mostly because I feared standing before a God I did not think I believed in and explaining why I had wasted knowledge, understanding, and time. After twenty years as a Catholic, I would like to think that
Death, Hope, Heaven- What Are We Here for Anyway? Read More »
Making an oratory of the heart… The phrase, “oratory of the heart,” is not common parlance. I first encountered it in Brother Lawrence’s Practice of the Presence of God,. I had to stop and think about the word oratory. It’s not one we hear in daily conversations. Oratory is defined first as as eloquence in
Making an Oratory of the Heart Read More »
If we are not frightened by brutality are not my words, instead, they are those of St. Augustine as he wrote about the serene, loving and Christlike words that poured from the mouth of the brutally tortured and dying martyr, St. Vincent during yet another of the successive regimes of persecution against Christians in the
If We Are Not Frightened by Brutality Read More »
The times are so serious that even children “The times are so serious that even children should be made to understand that there are vital differences in people’s beliefs which lead to differences in behavior. This little story, I hope, will appeal to children so they will read it and as they grow older, they
The Times Are So Serious That Even Children Read More »
Women of a certain age. Age is a funny thing. We can think that the phrase- and its associated number – means categories that limit, bound and define. Or we can mostly ignore it and live the life we choose, until we’re too ill to do so. In this twenty-first century, we read and hear
Women of A Certain Age Read More »
We would need to be comatose to miss the fact of the upcoming elections: No one can say it better than Solzhenitsyn. The lure of socialism is growing. Understandable in a country, indeed a world, where it feels like only the very rich keep getting more. And those at the bottom of the heap less and
No One Can Say It Better: Solzhenitsyn Read More »
Angels- Bible Fantasy or Real? The Christian liturgy celebrates the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Rafael on September 29th. Three days later on October 2nd, we celebrate our Guardian angels. Catholics were brought up believing, even trusting, in their Guardian Angels. For the rest of us, the notion of such heavenly beings was fitting
Angels- Bible Fantasy or Real? Read More »
Our rule of law and its slippery slope Most of us believe that our rule of law is sacred and that passing laws will fix recurring problems, address unwanted behavior, even establish a universal moral code. Examples of relatively recent legislative activity are texting while driving and sexual harassment. Note the wide definitional range between these
Our Rule of Law and It’s Slippery Slope Read More »
How Machiavellian are you? Never thought about it? Since the word Machiavellian is defined as unscrupulous, underhanded and crafty the question of ‘just how Machiavellian are you?’ isn’t something that pops into the head of the average bear. Unless you’re a cop, or lawyer or have had sufficient experience with the justice system to know
How Machiavellian Are You? Read More »