So-called critical theorists like to speak about “systemic” racism, and other social sins. Most people spouting such cant have no idea what it means, but they know what it does: it renders their opponents—unrepentant members of “privileged” social “groups”—guilty without a trial, and therefore subject to various forms of abuse without the right to effectiveContinue reading “Systemic Duplicity”
Tag Archives: happiness
The Devil’s Cross
Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’s sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10 By the time we reach this capstone of the Beatitudes, it has long been evident that true happiness is inseparable from suffering. Of course, Christ continually refers us to the “kingdom of heaven,” in which our sacrificesContinue reading “The Devil’s Cross”
Purity and Play
Blessed are the pure of heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 Our Lord tells that, to be saved, we must become like little children (Mt. 18:3). Speaking as Divine Wisdom, he also tells us of that “When [the Lord] prepared the heavens, I was present”; “I was with him forming all things: andContinue reading “Purity and Play”
A Living Gift of the Living God
This is the day which the Lord has made: Let us be glad and rejoice therein! Psalm 117:24 Poverty of spirit, or detachment from worldly goods, may strike us as a fundamentally negative stance. As noted here, the blessing this beatitude bestows is founded on a willingness to relinquish certain things we may otherwise desireContinue reading “A Living Gift of the Living God”
The Blessings of Poverty
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 Strictly speaking, poverty—a lack of goods—is not good. As with each of the beatitudes, our Lord’s blessing of those who are “poor” (Lk. 6:20), or even “poor in spirit,” contains a paradox. Come to think of it, a paradox—an apparentContinue reading “The Blessings of Poverty”
Accepting the Gift of Happiness
The lawgiver shall give a blessing, They shall go from virtue to virtue: The God of gods shall be seen in Sion. Psalm 83:8 In Plato’s Gorgias, the ambitious Callicles accuses Socrates of turning human life upside down with his teaching that happiness consists in a life of virtue. To our fallen, grasping souls, itContinue reading “Accepting the Gift of Happiness”
Book in Hand
According to Desiderius Erasmus, his dear friend and fellow intellectual prankster, St. Thomas More never went anywhere without a book in hand. Yet no one would have described him as a “bookish” man. Then as now, many were wont to blame the liberal arts for leading wayward souls into a life if impracticality. Yet More,Continue reading “Book in Hand”
Leaping with the Lord
Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. Canticle of Canticles 2:8 In the midst of Passiontide, during which we contemplate our Lord’s sacrifice of the human nature he had adopted thirty-three years (and nine months) prior, we pause to celebrate the joyful day that made that sacrifice possible. By the AnnunciationContinue reading “Leaping with the Lord”
What is Political Philosophy?
Philosophy is the love of wisdom. To love something, we must know it. Had our Creator not left the stamp of his own Wisdom upon our soul, we would have no idea wisdom exists, and would be helpless to recognize it even if we happened to stumble upon it. By the same token, no oneContinue reading “What is Political Philosophy?”
Breaking the Social Contract
“Social contract theory” is the (false) notion that society is essentially constituted by an agreement among radically autonomous individuals. Though the theory stands in contradiction to our political nature, it does not follow that the concept of a social contract is erroneous or irrelevant to an understanding of human affairs. Just as human beings areContinue reading “Breaking the Social Contract”
"His Tongue shall Speak Judgment" 