Tag Archives: truth

A Saintly Machiavel

Psychologically speaking, July of 2020 was several eons ago. This blog, born of my feeble attempts to make sense of a crumbling social order, had not yet been conceived. In the course of those feeble efforts, however, one memorable moment was my first encounter with the writings of Angelo Codevilla, whose The Covid Coup wasContinue reading “A Saintly Machiavel”

Before the Day of the Lord

St. Paul admonishes his flock not to be easily moved from their senses with terror, “as if the day of the Lord were at hand” (2 Thes. 2). That day will not come, he informs them, “unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” How areContinue reading “Before the Day of the Lord”

Precious in the Sight of the Lord

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 115:15 As noted yesterday in these ethereal pages, the Kingdom of Christ on earth extends to society as a whole through his enthronement in the hearts, intellects, and wills of men. Even as Christ informed Pilate that his Kingdom is notContinue reading “Precious in the Sight of the Lord”

Kingdom Come

Almost a century ago, Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King, to be celebrated on the last Sunday of October. Though placed towards the end of the liturgical year, this reminder of our Savior’s regal office was not intended to replace the last Sunday in the Church’s annual cycle, which (like theContinue reading “Kingdom Come”

Skepticism and Certainty

And this I pray, that your charity may more and more abound in knowledge, and in all understanding: that you may approve the better things. Philippians 1:9-10 In a profoundly pertinent and provocatively penetrating essay, Gary Saul Morrison explores the wise skepticism of Leo Tolstoy. Against those who believe that human affairs can be reducedContinue reading “Skepticism and Certainty”

Self-Evident Eloquence

In an 1852 speech celebrating the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Frederick Douglass finds himself in the awkward position of having to persuade his fellow countrymen to accept the manifest consequences of the self-evident truths proclaimed in our founding document, and so to abolish slavery. How does one demonstrate the self-evident? “Where all isContinue reading “Self-Evident Eloquence”

Saints Among Us

How many of those walking among us here and now will one day be revered as saints? I suspect we would all do well to reflect more deeply on this question, and its implications for our lives, personally and culturally. I mut confess to giving the matter much less thought than it deserves. Still, thereContinue reading “Saints Among Us”

Without a Shepherd

Shortly after escaping from slavery, Frederick Douglass found himself in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a “lukewarm” Methodist, he felt it his duty to seek the “spiritual advantage of public worship,” and “therefore resolved to join” the local congregation. Though Massachusetts was a free state, Douglass was denied a “seat in the body of the house”Continue reading “Without a Shepherd”

Encouraging our Elites

Writing to Alexander Dubček, would-be communist reformer in 1960s Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel has this to say about the importance of political leadership: A politician—and any social elite, for that matter—is not merely a “function” of society. Society is also, to a certain extent, a “function” of its politicians and its elites. These elites act onContinue reading “Encouraging our Elites”