It is Christmas and we all think back on Christmases past not without a bit of nostalgia for what the feast represents. We think back on Christmas trees, manger scenes and midnight Masses. We recall family dinners, marveling children and Christmas carols. Such memories fill us with joys in a brutal world … Read more
Magnificent medieval stained glass windows have sometimes been referred to as a “catechism in glass” because of the richness of the faith which their imagery conveyed. We could say the statues of this time period aptly captured the virtues of the holy personages. When done well they are, in their turn, truly … Read more
I am a victim of micro-aggression. I only found out now after watching the campus activists who have been disrupting studies this past semester. They claim their learning experiences are plagued with systemic bias and attitudes that they call “micro-aggressions.” A micro-aggression is any word, act or presupposition, slight though it might … Read more
A Christian order presupposes that we believe in Christ and His law. As a result, Christians organize all society in function of this law, and from this comes order and peace. A Christian society also presupposes a fight against evil and all those threats that attack the good order of society. When … Read more
The issues now being debated in the 2016 elections are framed as if the country revolved around a great big cookie jar. The benefits and promises candidates offer are like cookies that must be substantial, instantly gratifying and abundant. All the problems the nation faces seem to be reduced to who has … Read more
America and much of the rest of the world are experiencing fatigue from all the bad news. Islamists shooting innocent civilians. Crazed individuals opening fire at theaters and military bases. A new school shooting every month, if not more often. Things didn’t used to be this way. You would never hear of … Read more
“A Facile Repetition of What Is Obvious or Has Already Been Said” After the most disparate news about the 2015 Synod on the Family, the event ended with an ambiguous document which allows an interpretation contradictory to Catholic doctrine, opening the doors for Communion for the divorced and civilly “remarried” (in fact, … Read more
At a school in Emmen in the Swiss canton of Lucerne, students were asked to beautify some concrete walls. In fact, more than 1,000 inhabitants of the locality have participated in similar initiatives in the past seven years. The plan was sponsored by Emmenfarbig (Emmen in Color), an association directed by Peter … Read more
There is a social media app popular on campuses nationwide called Yik-Yak. The way it works is that short Twitter-like messages (yaks) can be posted anonymously within a short-radius area. The best yaks are then voted up or down a list by those within a given place. All these short messages, however, … Read more
Speaking with a friend recently, we chanced to talk about money and coins. He is a coin collector and had just visited a coin shop nearby. I mentioned my own studies of medieval economy and its coinage. Much to my surprise and delight, he reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled … Read more