What It Takes

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To excel, prodigies do what others can't.

To excel, the rest of us must do what others won't.

A Weighty Tome Is On The Way

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After conducting much market research regarding the relevance of Christianity to the felt needs of the postmodern psyche, I have written my new book. It will arrive just in time for Christmas.

title: The Secret Principle of Powerful Living
subtitle: Authentic Conversations for Reaching Your Full Potential

Scylla and Charybdis and You

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Sometimes our principles overrule common sense.

Sometimes our sentimentality overrules our principles.

The wise man is able to navigate the tricky waters between these two mistakes.

Did You Know?

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Q: What is axegrinder’s favorite band?

A: Molly Hatchet, of course.

Hymns vs. Praise and Worship Music

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This post is a response to an excellent article over at the blog of Warwickensis. I encourage you to read his thoughts and patronize his blog.

I have dealt with this issue continually for probably 10 years. I have many Evangelical friends and occasionally visit their services at times when my church is not gathering.

If I offend you with either the tone or content of this post, please forgive. At those certain places in the following paragraphs simply imagine me sitting across the table from you. There is a smile on my face. I am speaking as one engaged in a friendly debate.

Anything you perceive as an attack on you, please do not take it as such. Imagine that I am trying to push your buttons a little. Again, as friend to friend, not as someone who is trying to harm you. We all tease each other sometimes.

I am just telling you that you spilled something on your shirt. If I tweak your nose when you look down, I won't blame you if you take umbrage with my immaturity. I only ask that you believe me when I say that there is no malice involved. But, seriously, you have something on your shirt.

{Rant Mode: Engaged}

The cultural and intellectual degeneration perpetuated, though not initiated, by Rock and Roll music has almost completely overwhelmed the Church in America (and I assume Britain). The inability to understand and articulate the Gospel and even the most basic doctrines of the faith, while not solely the fault of, is directly tied to the ubiquity of "Praise and Worship" "music" in churches (Roman, Anglican, Evangelical, etc.).

I am very thankful that both Anglican parishes where I’ve attended sing only hymns. It is painful to me to see otherwise intelligent friends fall into silliness and irrationality when it comes to music. The defenses that I have heard for P&W have caused my jaw to drop in disbelief. The vigor and emotion with which they defend this golden calf within churches are only outstripped by the vacuity of their reasoning.

And the whole idea of "blended worship?" Don't even get me started. Either have a rock concert or a service of worship. Either sink into the confusion and despair of Existentialism or rise in the likeness of Christ and sings songs that exhibit excellence, reverence and profundity of thought that has been enabled by revelation. Sing of the mighty acts of God in time and space. Sing of the acts and nature of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank him that we can participate in the Son, through the Holy Spirit, unto the Father.

If Hymns and P&W were to have a fistfight, P&W would run away the second Hymns raised their hand.

People have asked me if I think that we can no longer write music and if we are stuck with the body of hymns written before the 20th century. First, the breadth of our hymns has not been broadly explored in generations. So, the idea that we would ever reach a point where every quality hymn has become over-used is ridiculous.

Second, there are very, VERY few people who have the requisite combination of gifts, intelligence and training in literature, poetry and divinity to offer the Church songs worth singing. The same goes for the musicians who would write the new tunes to go with our new songs.

I hear the protest, “You can’t say that only smart people can write songs for the Church!” Please, hush up. You’re embarrassing yourself. And if someone in the audience is going to quote the verse from Psalms that says, “Sing to the Lord a NEW song,” again, please, quiet yourself. The adults are trying to talk.

The music of hymns is absolutely better than the music of P&W. I will say that with no hesitation whatsoever. I’m going to have to disagree with those who think that it is simply a matter of taste. I assert that it is not a matter of personal taste. That is the kind of fuzzy, relativistic thinking that we need to be combating, not coddling.

If a kid is raised only eating junk food, his health will suffer and he will have no taste for those foods that would truly nourish his body. A compassionate and wise person would not indulge such a child. He would do whatever possible to help him see the danger of his inadequate and harmful nutrition.

The idea that there is no objective way to say that some forms of music are better than others is so obviously foolish that I feel like, on those rare occasions nowadays when I stumble into a debate on the subject, I’m talking to a child, a mentally-handicapped person or a college freshman who is in the middle of his first semester of politically-correct, “multi-cultural” indoctrination. I realize that I need to write more about this point. Let me get my thoughts together a bit more, and I will get back to you. This epistle was hastily written after I was inspired (?) by Warwickensis’s thoughts.

One more note: I listen to rock music. Do not read me as some post-modern Essene who is completely ignorant and unaware of music, movies, and TV. Who knows him some pop culture? This guy. A Snickers bar never killed anybody. Just make sure it’s not your main diet. Also, don’t ever serve one at a formal dinner with royalty.

{Rant Mode: Disengaged … For Now}

Fr. Gordon Anderson on Anglican Spiritual Formation

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It may be April Fools Day, but I ain't pullin' your chain. I heartily concur with Fr. Anderson's sentiments. I feel every year I travel the Anglican way I learn so much that I do not realize until after the fact. My Anglican spiritual formation has primarily been through weekly participation in the Liturgy, practice of the Daily Office and interaction with the rectors of the churches I have attended. I have not done a tremendous amount of reading in Anglican theological sources. John Wesley's writings, Lancelot Andrewes's collection of personal devotions, and a number of Anglican blogs have been my other, secondary influences. I've been an Anglican for a shade over six years. I have four more years until I become an Anglican (read on).

"A wise priest colleague remarked to me once that it takes ten years for a convert to become an Anglican: that is, to be truly formed by the liturgy and ethos of the classical Book of Common Prayer and the English spiritual tradition. Having been on this journey myself for so long now I definitely agree with that. Anglican formation is a very long and slow process. It involves a complete reorientation of ones general thinking, theological method, and spirituality. It is so slow, in fact, that half the time one doesn't even know it is happening! Once one is formed in the tradition, though, he could hardly imagine being anything else, and such a strong and solid base has been established that the spiritual life beings to really blossom. By far the critical error people make is thinking they know something of Anglicanism after just a few services, or a few years of membership in an Anglican parish, but after brief time, in frustration, they leave. It takes so much longer than that to really explore and experience our tradition.

"On a related note, I wonder if it is even possible for anyone to get a truly Anglican formation in the Episcopal Church anymore, since that body has abandoned on a local and institutional level the classical Anglican tradition and rule of life. Because of that, I tend (perhaps wrongly) to be very leery of people who come to us from TEC proudly boasting that they are "life long episcopalians". I wonder what, if anything, they have learned about English spirituality in The Episcopal Church - even if it is a "conservative" parish. Lord knows they know nothing about the Book of Common Prayer in many cases, and they certainly have not read even popular Anglican writers like C.S. Lewis, much less the classical divines, such as Jewel, Taylor, Thorndike, etc.

"Our formation process is slow, and I think sometimes people get impatient with it. But things that grow slowly grow strong. And I think having strongly formed Christians is much better than having great numbers of poorly formed souls, which is, sadly, what many other churches focus on these days."

Two additional points from me:

I think that I fell in love with the 1928 Book of Common Prayer liturgy within 2-3 services. I find the Mass in the parishes where I have worshiped to be beautiful, theologically instructive, and spiritually formative and edifying. Don't even get me started on the music and hymnody. The Daily Office of Prayer and liturgies are so accessible. I really could go on and on and probably will write a detailed post or series at some point on the things that I find so wonderful about Anglican worship. I might also include some critiques of the areas where we could improve. We'll see.

I know that the majority of the people who visit this blog are not Anglicans, so let me offer a few basic words of explanation. Continuing Anglicanism, aka the Anglican Continuum, is separate from what used to be known as ECUSA (the Episcopal Church USA) and is now simply called TEC (The Episcopal Church). The general difference is that the Continuum claims to hold to many of the traditional beliefs and practices that TEC has changed or jettisoned over the years. I have strong opinions about these issues but am seeking to avoid polemics here. Some of the differences are pretty straight forward. Some of the areas of conflict are quite complicated. Most of the astute, American, Anglican and Episcopal bloggers I read remain in TEC and are trying to chart a very difficult course. They have my prayers and respect. For simplicity, while not technically correct, when I use the term Anglicanism on this blog, I am talking about the Continuum. If I say Episcopalianism, I am referring to TEC. If I am talking about worldwide Anglicanism I call it the Anglican Communion.

OK, enough of that.

Captain Jack Revisited

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It has been a month and a half since I wrote this post. I have become a little fascinated with Stephen Jackson in that time. I read an ESPN magazine story about Stephen Jackson that portrayed him as very sympathetic. I've also read some other info about him in various places. His teammates and coaches speak very highly of him. He has done a lot of charity work. It sounds like he is involved in a Bible study and probably church. He continues to do good things for his hometown, Port Arthur, TX (near Houston).

There is no question that Stephen Jackson has done some regrettable, ill-advised things. It seems that he sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. On the other hand, he comes across as fiercely loyal to friends and teammates and will stand up for them whatever the cost to himself. In a weird way, I kind of identify with him. Like most of us, his life seems to be a mixture of good and bad as he seeks to become a better person in the midst of numerous temptations, both inward and outward. Add to all of that the religious element and the fact that he is a very good basketball player, and you have someone with whom I would probably enjoy sharing a meal (He worked in a relative's soul food restaurant as a kid. I could eat me some soul food.)

I decided to write this update because I felt like I had spoken unfairly about another bearer of the image of God. There's always more to the story that we see. That doesn't mean that we don't make judgments based on what we know. It does me that we recognize that our judgments should always be provisional. We (almost) never have the whole picture before us. That being said, maybe my original post could simply be taken as a tongue-in-cheek comment on a strange situation.

"Do unto others ..."

Come to the Table

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"You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!"

I was thinking about this quote from St. John Chrysostom this morning at Mass. I did not have the most focused Lent, but this Holy Week has been full of inspiration and edification. I was thinking about how every good desire, every thought about God, every move toward repentance, every ounce of contrition that I have begins with God. He is always the initiator.

When we are reaching out for God, we should always take heart. If we are reaching out to God we should know that it is only because he has been reaching out for us. It is that continual movement by which we receive life: from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit and then back to the Father, in the Son, by the Holy Spirit.

You can find St. John Chysostom's Easter Sermon many places. My cyber-pal, Death Bredon, featured it on his blog today. It is brief. Please, do yourself a favor and read it.

Easter Day

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Collect for Easter Day:

"ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen."

Our priest made the point today that the Gospel story has been faithfully told for two millennia. That may seem like a "no duh" assertion. I was glad that he said it. Everyone knows that there are a lot of visitors on Easter. There are too many voices, both among those who profess Christianity and those who don't, claiming that the Church lost the message of Christ at some point or never had it at all. A simple reminder that this is not the case is a good thing. How wearying is all the talk about recapturing, rediscovering and reimagining (?) the Gospel?

Along similar lines, our rector said a few words about love. He mentioned that it is constantly misunderstood and abused. Then he said that Christians are the ones who know what love is. No apology. No qualification. Simply stated as a fact. He went on to talk about the elements of sacrifice and other-orientation that are essential in love in the world.

You know when you are listening to something but are hearing it from someone's else's perspective. That was what I was experiencing this morning. I could hear people scoffing in my head about the rector's confidence in the Church as the messenger of the Gospel and expression of Christ's love. I was glad that he was bold.

Holy Saturday

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The Collect for Holy Saturday:

"GRANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him; and that through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

There is, of course, an element of darkness and mourning in Holy Saturday. But, there is a wonderful tension due to the fact that there is such an anticipation of triumph today. Christ continues his saving work as he descends into hell as Victor. Yes, he DESCENDS as VICTOR. What a day of transition between the death and suffering of Good Friday and the resurrection and life of Easter.

Passions

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I mentioned Fr. Jonathan Tobias on Maundy Thursday. There's another Orthodox priest who is consistently offering meditations which will feed your soul.

Go read Fr. Stephen Freeman's daily posts. He is writing on the passions right now. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to receive some great pastoral thoughts.

Good Friday

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Collect for Good Friday:

"ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen."

Today is a day for mourning. We behold the Passion of our Lord culminating in his death. We see that we are there, guilty.

Jesus was not compelled by justice to offer himself, but rather moved by compassion. Do not believe that horrible lie that the Trinity was constrained by anything towards the Cross. It was the desire to have man as an active participant in their shared life that the Persons of the Trinity committed to this action.

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14)

It was love. It was love. It was love.

God grant us the grace to behold these things and weep.

TS Eliot Weighs In

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The wounded surgeon plies the steel
That questions the distempered part;
Beneath the bleeding hands we feel
The sharp compassion of the healer's art
Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.

Our only health is the disease
If we obey the dying nurse
Whose constant care is not to please
But to remind of our, and Adam's curse,
And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.

The whole earth is our hospital
Endowed by the ruined millionaire,
Wherein, if we do well, we shall
Die of the absolute paternal care
That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere.

The chill ascends from feet to knees,
The fever sings in mental wires.
If to be warmed, then I must freeze
And quake in frigid purgatorial fires
Of which the flame is roses, and the smoke is briars.

The dripping blood our only drink,
The bloody flesh our only food:
In spite of which we like to think
That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood—
Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.

- T.S. Eliot, from Four Quartets - East Coker (Quartet 2) Part 4

[HT: Andy Whitman]

Maundy Thursday

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Christ has entered the Darkness of sin, temptation, desolation and abandonment. He empties himself before his Father on behalf of mankind.

May we enter the darkness with him, as much as we can bear it.

Lord, help us to empty ourselves of all of our conceit.

Drink It In

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I know that I've pointed you over there more than once, but for good reason.

Fr. Jonathan Tobias is knocking it out of the park every day right now. Get over there.

Collect for Maunday Thursday:

"ALMIGHTY Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, did institute the Sacrament of his Body and Blood; Mercifully grant that we may thankfully receive the same in remembrance of him, who in these holy mysteries giveth us a pledge of life eternal; the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen."

What Would You Do With Your Final Six Months?

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Kevin Kelly is the founder of Wired magazine and is involved in a ton of cutting edge tech stuff. He was on NPR's "This American Life." Kelly's portion starts at 4:19 and ends at 27:15.

I'll offer a bit of a teaser. The story is about his conversion experience and what happened during the months after. It kind of begins when he spent a night in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. It really could be a novel or movie.

Go listen to Kelly's tale. Hang in to the end. It's worth it.

Ah, Holy Jesus

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This hymn is one of my Lenten favorites.

Listen to the hymn sung while you read the lyrics.

Here's another version.

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
’Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was Thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

*Note* You can often find a hymn or song sung if you search the title and/or author + mp3, ie "Ah, Holy Jesus mp3." That's good for those of us who don't read music but would like to learn new hymns.

The Great Dane (Not Hamlet)

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“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

- Soren Kierkegaard

I didn't even have to read a book to find this fantastic quote. Thanks, Ironic Catholic!

One Piece Of Paper

See them all. (Click the Papercut tabs after following the link.)

False Advertising

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This movie poster makes one of the greatest movies of all time look like a WWII version of the Ice Capades.

"The Great Escape ... On Ice"

"Feel the Excitement of Skating Away from a Nazi Prison Camp!"

"Fun for the Whole Family"

I can just imagine Charles Bronson doing a double axel to the theme song.

The NBA - Where Unhinged Happens

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*Please see Update at the end of this post.*

Stephen Jackson doesn't know karate but he knows ka-RAY-zee!


I know that this is old news but most of you weren't paying attention at the beginning of the NBA season when Captain Jack unveiled this masterpiece.

The explanation of what the tat means does not make it any less ridiculous:

You see, when Stephen Jackson was playing for the Indiana Pacers, some time after he ran into the stands and attacked a fan half his size, he was at a strip club when some stuff started going down. Naturally, he pulled out his gun and started firing it in the air. Before this season began, he had his day in court, and the situation was resolved.

The tattoo features the iconic "Praying Hands" in front of a cross and stained glass window. Only in this rendition, the hands are holding a gun. It is all a reminder to Capt. Jack of what happened and that he is moving forward with his life.

I see this trend taking off. Young, unwed, pregnant women having their distended bellies tattooed with the praying hands holding a pack of prophylactics. 12-Steppers with the praying hands clasping a bottle of suds. (Let's hope those hands don't get the shakes.) I suppose serial killers would have a plethora of choices for their praying hands: rope, knives, binoculars, Polaroid cameras. The possibilities are endless.

Thank you, Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, for making the world just a little bit more senseless.

*UPDATE* It has been a month and a half since I wrote this post (it is 3/27). I have become a little fascinated with Stephen Jackson in that time. I read an ESPN magazine story about Stephen Jackson that portrayed him as very sympathetic. I've also read some other info about him in various places. His teammates and coaches speak very highly of him. He has done a lot of charity work. It sounds like he is involved in a Bible study and probably church. He continues to do good things for his hometown, Port Arthur, TX (near Houston).

There is no question that Stephen Jackson has done some regrettable, ill-advised things. It seems that he sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. On the other hand, he comes across as fiercely loyal to friends and teammates and will stand up for them whatever the cost to himself. In a weird way, I kind of identify with him. Like most of us, his life seems to be a mixture of good and bad as he seeks to become a better person in the midst of numerous temptation, both inward and outward. Add to all of that the religious element and the fact that he is a very good basketball player, and you have someone with whom I would probably enjoy sharing a meal (He worked in a relative's soul food restaurant as a kid. I could eat me some soul food.)

I decided to write this update because I felt like I had spoken unfairly about another bearer of the image of God. There's always more to the story that we see. That doesn't mean that we don't make judgments based on what we know. It does me that we recognize that our judgments should always be provisional. We (almost) never have the whole picture before us. That being said, maybe my original post could simply be taken as a tongue-in-cheek comment on a strange situation.

"Do unto others ..."

A Little Levity

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I've never done drugs but I imagine that, if I did, it would go a little something like this (at least watch the last minute and a half):

San Martin de Porres

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From here

Who is San Martin de Porres?

I have a similar candle given to me by some close friends. It has accompanied me through numerous moves and still sits on my desk.

By the way, "he is the patron saint of interracial relations (because of his universal charity to all men)." (source)

Good Thing He Doesn't Have Opposable Thumbs

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The Ochlophobist on Word Power

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"The degeneration of language that we now see is the sad putting on of appearances by demons still trembling in fear because of the word of the Theotokos spoken in accordance with the Word she accepted and bore. They have every reason to fear now, for in their pursuit of the flatteries and fabrications of Nothing their potential victims need only bend the neck and utter from the heart a "be it unto me" and the whole game is over - even in metal shops, and classrooms, and sales meetings, and Lord knows where else.

"God, who energetically seems to make occasion for irony, appears rather intent on expressing salvation in the most seemingly impossible situations. In fact, as St. Paul makes clear and as many of us have experienced, the greater the degree of realized need, the greater the degree of our potential clarity in seeing grace. Thus in Christ's new order, the order of Nativity, when things get worse, there is all the more power in what is better. Flattery abounds, but in such a context the icon of a real word spoken or written only serves to bear a greater witness."

- Owen White

Christfits

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Christfits -

(Christian misfits)

pronounced like "misfits"

1. Social misfits who find refuge in the Church

2. People whose Christianity puts them at odds with the world

Both definitions can be true of one person, but they are not always.

There is a stigma attached to people in the first category, but there should not be. You don't have to be a misfit in order to enter the Church, but the Church certainly welcomes all repentant sinners, misfits or otherwise.

Yes, if you want to be a stickler, all Christians are misfits. Discipleship does at times create "a person whose behavior or attitude sets them apart from others in an uncomfortably conspicuous way."

Helen Rittelmeyer on Ubiquitous Intellectual Paucity

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"There's a long-running thread in Southern literature that suggests "Can Meritocracy Prevail?" is not a question that Dalmia can ask and expect to get a sensible answer. William Styron, William Faulkner, and Thomas Wolfe all wrote about disillusioned young Southerners who headed northward in hopes of finding a place with more appreciation for book-learning (Lie Down in Darkness, The Sound and the Fury, and Of Time and the River), and all three came to the same conclusion: Harvard and Yale are primarily capitals of New England culture, not capitals of academic learning, and New England doesn't actually care about academic learning any more than the South does. The elite New England way of speaking sounds intellectual, but at the end of the day the resemblance is superficial. The fact that Ivy League graduates all talk like professors doesn't indicate real erudition any more than the fact that Southern politicians all talk like Baptist preachers speaks to their individual piety."

- Helen Rittelmeyer, Yale student

The Struggle With Sin

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It used to annoy me to no end when people would talk about yielding to temptation as their “struggling with sin.” It often seemed to me that they were like a man who is lying in bed sick. The nurse comes in with the appropriate medicine, hands him the pills and a cup of water, and stands there waiting for the sick man to ingest the meds. If the man refuses the medication and continues to expose himself to the things that make him sick, could he really say that he is “struggling with his sickness?”

So it is with the life of following Christ and walking in the Spirit. There is medicine in the Church. There are soul doctors to offer that medicine to sinners. The question is, will we take the “medicine of immortality,” the Holy Eucharist? Will we live the life of prayer, feeding on the Word, doing good works and engaging in holy conversation?

I do not want to make anything sound like a walk in the park. Life is hard. Sin is very present, and temptations are around every corner. Struggling with temptation is a very real part of life here below. I hope that you know that you are not alone both in the struggles and in the path to victory.

Fr. Stephen Freeman wrote much more effectually on temptation this week. Below is one passage from his meditation. Go read it all.

“I am also quite sympathetic to larger matters that make the struggle all the more difficult. To struggle against sin when one is beset with depression is close to impossible - the depression itself takes all our energy for the struggle.”

Ralph Wood on Tree-Hugging

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"As readers we are able to experience Treebeard at two levels: On the one hand, he is patently an aesthetic invention, a fictional creature. Both Chesterton and Tolkien constantly draw attention to the created character of their work, reminding us that it belongs to secondary and not primarily reality: it is a constructed thing to be enjoyed as such. Yet having encountered this fantastic tree with human features, readers can no longer look upon real trees as mere objects meant only for our manipulation. On the contrary, we can now envision all trees as analogical actualities, as transcendent symbols that participate in the reality that they signify, as having likenesses to us despite their differences from us, and thus as linking natural things with both human and divine things—and perhaps also with things demonic. It is not a long leap, for instance, from Treebeard to the trees in the Garden of Eden ...

"Unlike much modern art that revels in the macabre and the bizarre—self-referential, solipsistic, nihilistic—the fantastical work of these two Catholics is not such a sorry project. Chesterton and Tolkien have not autonomously invented their own imaginative worlds so much as they have reordered the existing world in accordance with their fundamentally Aristotelian/Thomistic perception of it. Their common conviction is that everything has its own entelechy, its own end within itself that pushes it toward completion and fulfillment within a larger, indeed a final telos."

- Ralph Wood "The Catholic Fantastic of Chesterton and Tolkien"

Epiphany

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I was talking about Epiphany with a friend late Saturday night and decided to go back and read what I had previously written about this feast. While I have not written anything new for the Sunday Lectionary readings in a while, I thought I might include links to my posts from 2006 and 2007.

2006 - Christ (Unexpectedly) Revealed

2007 - Light and Darkness