If we still fall into the trap of magical thinking in religious circles today, what is the distinction between true religion and magic? Why is a prayer for God’s protection, healing, or blessing different from a magic spell or invocation? At the start of his seminal work, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Keith Thomas [...]
Daniel McInerny’s novel is a fine effort and an absorbing and satisfying read. But does he meet the challenges facing the writer of modern Catholic fiction: to somehow tiptoe around the masters, but still stand on their shoulders; to avoid the story being pastiche or preachy, while still allowing the tabernacle lamp to glow in [...]
The three vows of the Benedictine monk are obedience, stability, and conversion of life. In our own ways, we can follow this example, making it real by paying attention to prayer, cracking the books in solid study, and rolling up our sleeves in the honest, hard work of rebuilding what has fallen into despair and [...]
The real problem with most materialists is not that they deny the existence of the invisible realm, but they are cowardly and lazy. They have not had the guts or gumption to follow their disbelief to the end point. Puddleglum is a Marshwiggle. Those who have read The Silver Chair will remember C.S. Lewis’ description [...]
Beauty is there, if only we would heed its call. In the midst of the earthly city, with all its problems, we need to heed the call of the Heavenly City which is right there in front of us. My advice to everyone (writers included): go to church, discover beauty, discover God. Alexander Lucie-Smith [...]
The essential error of the modernist theologians is that they have fallen for the myth of the noble savage. But both the noble savage and the urban savage are simplistic generalities: They express a truth and a lie at the same time. The Amazonian synod of 2019 in Rome revealed what might be called “The [...]
The romanticism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s great saga was inspired partly by the actions of King Jan Sobieski during the Battle of Vienna in 1683, when Christian Europe stemmed the advance of militant Islam. A minor observation in a recent essay began a series of connections that will please Catholics, conservatives, history hounds, and J.R.R. Tolkien [...]
Peter Giersch's "Talking of Michelangelo" is an account of his trip to a French monastery to plunge into a week-long Ignatian retreat. But who wants to read about the inner musings of someone’s religious retreat? Happily, the most likely answer is: You do. Peter Giersch has been a French teacher, a catechist, a business entrepreneur [...]
Several years ago, when I was in Europe leading a pilgrimage tour to England with Joseph Pearce, I learned that the Shroud of Turin was to be on display for veneration in Turin. After the pilgrimage in England I made my way to Italy where I was joined by a friend. After a few days [...]
Guiding the reader through the seven-week Easter season, Laura Bedingfeld's "Arise" offers daily meditations from Sacred Scripture, showing how the theme of resurrection is woven through the great saga of salvation history from the beginning. There are plenty of devotional aids produced for the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent, but not enough for the [...]
What are we to make of the Christian who says: “I am not so naïve or literal in my understanding as to expect Jesus physically to rise from the dead. Surely the true meaning of this belief is that he continued to exist in some spiritual manner”? Some years ago there was an Anglican bishop [...]
My own continued admiration of Gerald Finzi’s majestic and moving anthem, "Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice," lies not only in the masterful blend of music and words, but also in the confluence of so many personal memories that touch and move me. Sometimes a piece of music or art brings different aspects of one’s life [...]
In a world of spoiled children, indigent adults, victim complainers, and entitled brats of all ages, the one who accepts responsibility for himself will have the tools for high self-esteem, achievement, and success in every area of life. I was five years old when I “got saved”. We had been to the Sunday evening service [...]
Whatever a person’s place in life, Saint Benedict offers a “little Rule for beginners.” The principles of the spiritual life which he sets down put us down firmly in life right where we are. By paralleling family and monastery, today’s reader can glean simple yet practical wisdom for, as well as extraordinary insight into, the [...]