Sheen explains that the Church “continues Christ, expresses Christ, develops all the virtualities, potentialities of Christ, makes it possible for Him to extend Himself beyond the space of Palestine and the space of thirty-three years to prolong his influence unto all times and to all men—in a word, it de-temporalizes and de-localizes Christ so that… Read More The Mystical Body of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen
“Dickens must have known would have worked on the consciences of the Parliamentarians too, as it did!” “By advocating that population should be controlled voluntarily through birth control, abstinence, or delayed marriage – or involuntarily, and through the scourges “of war, famine, and disease,” [Thomas] Malthus was derided by his peers and he even earned a nasty… Read More Scrooge and Thomas Malthus
On giving, not just consuming. Melvyn Bragg and guests (In Our Time, BBC) discuss Charles Dickens’ novella, written in 1843 when he was 31, which has become intertwined with his reputation and with Christmas itself. Ebenezer Scrooge is the miserly everyman figure whose joyless obsession with money severs him from society and his own emotions,… Read More Dickens and the meanings of A Christmas Carol
I dreamed I was walking through a desolate Night. I had come a greatdistance from the barren lands of Acedia. It was pitch dark except for thelantern loaned to me by the old man; there were also curious twinklings oflight which I followed in uneven, confusing patterns across the splattered glass and smoking ruins of… Read More Apocalypse Nights
We who are alive today have lived in extraordinary times. Never in history were so many ordinary people lured off the narrow way by so many lying signs, wonders and temptations. Few of us came through it unwounded. There is little romanticism in not being a hero. Many men and women courageously crawl through their… Read More Our Saving Wounds
“The Christian may not despair; i.e ., he may not give up hoping that God will forgive his sins, or help him in adversity. Cain despaired when he said: “My sin is too great to be forgiven” ( Gen . iv. 13 ). Saul despaired by throwing himself on his sword when hard pressed in… Read More The Christian may not despair.
Anti-colonialism was one of the dominant political currents of the 20th century, as dozens of European colonies in Asia and Africa became free. Today we are still living with the aftermath of colonialism. Apologists for terrorism, including Osama Bin Laden, argue that terrorist acts are an understandable attempt on the part of subjugated non-Western peoples… Read More History is Complex. Dinesh D’Souza on The Legacy of Colonialism
In one of Saint Therese of Lisieux’s favorite books, End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life, the author, Fr. Charles Arminjon (1824-1885) writes among many important things on the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. And he draws a most important moral Gospel lesson: “There are circumstances when even… Read More Even the Wicked Are Rewarded In This Life.
No Socialism Here. Only Simple Justice. Pope Pius XI in 1931 warned of International Finance, the grave dangers of ‘economic domination’ accumulated in the hands of the few He warned in Quadragesimo Anno of the dangers of international finance controlling credit, crushing competition and families. And this message flows directly and seamlessly from the teachings of Christ… Read More Despotic Economic Dictatorship — Pope Pius XI
By a.d. 1200, Europe was in the process of changing from a medieval agricultural economy to one based upon interregional trade, which contributed to the growth of large urban centers. Many of these cities evolved from successful trade fairs established along busy trade routes. In turn, they engendered a commercial revolution that would eventually change… Read More Medieval Fun and Commerce: Trade Fairs and the Commercial Revolution
“But the common saying, expressed in various ways and attributed to various authors, must be recalled with approval: “in essentials unity, in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.” — Pope John XXIII: Ad Petri Cathedram (1959)
Catholic Critique 