Kevin Staley-Joyce

My high school teachers liked to offer aphorisms to initiate discussion”“Your reputation is your most valuable possession” was a popular one, and another, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” That one in particular caught my attention because it sounded clever but not entirely true; and, like an unresolved chord, it begged for a sweeter-sounding conclusion… . Continue Reading »

Wednesday brings two of our On the Square web column’s most anticipated weekly pieces—Joe Carter’s and George Weigel’s. Today, Joe Carter brings to bear ” Six Thoughts About Jesus .” Here’s just one of his keen and original insights, on the “What . . . . Continue Reading »

First in line “On the Square” today is Elizabeth Scalia ‘s column, where she parses a particularly poisonous form of idolatry in the media: Our ideological allegiances to these cults of personality have us slip-sliding into the sin of idolatry and everything that comes with . . . . Continue Reading »

Second in line On the Square today is theologian Francesca Aran Murphy ‘s reflection on Lenten fasting. A Lent-long abstinence from meat, she submits, is not an exercise in trendy vegetarianism, but an ancient practice rooted in the desire to reset our spiritual sensibilities. Here’s the . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square today, Meghan Duke draws an intriguing connection between the radical trust required by both the bond of marriage and anticipation of the end-times. Save the date. On May 21, 2011, my brother is getting married. Or Christ will return to the earth to pronounce final judgment. It . . . . Continue Reading »

Almost every news report on the Church contains errors, but some journalistic misunderstandings are so risible they make one wonder if the journalism profession is populated primarily by disaffected Catholics. A recent story on a married German priest is a good example, especially given current . . . . Continue Reading »

Today’s first “On The Square” item is Joe Carter’s ” My Heroes Have Always Been Hebrews ,” where he explores evangelicals’ theological commitments to the welfare of Jews and the state of Israel: Indeed, it is almost impossible to overstate the influence of . . . . Continue Reading »

Today’s second “On The Square” essay for Valentine’s Day is Michael Novak’s ” The Myth of Romantic Love ,” wherein he explores romantic love, and its relation to caritas and agape: As a result of this invention, we Westerners have come to think that the . . . . Continue Reading »

Today’s first ” On the Square ” item is Justin Paulette’s essay, “Conceding Good Faith,” in which he recounts instructive encounters with ideological opponents. Their greatest flaw, Paulette argues, was not in their arguments, but their assumptions that . . . . Continue Reading »

In today’s first “On The Square” article, Joe Carter notes that country music reflects our cultural values but is nonetheless viewed with suspicion by its peer genres of popular music. What’s left in the lyrics is, Carter argues, just as consequential as what’s left . . . . Continue Reading »