As a matter of fact, he was actually the man from Kempen, but the author of the world’s most cherished Christian devotional would not have cared whether we knew the details of his life. Instead, Thomas à Kempis made it his chief endeavor to direct all attention to Christ. The constant theme of . . . . Continue Reading »
As someone raised in the scripture-centered precincts of Evangelical Protestantism who later found his way to Rome, I am particularly susceptible to frustration and shame at the state of the Catholic bible. It's not just the use of terrible translations like the NAB that grates, but also the low . . . . Continue Reading »
Many Beautiful Things lives up to its title. With lush visuals from the English countryside, the deserts of North Africa, and the watercolors of its subject Lilias Trotter, the latest from filmmaker Laura Waters Hinson pleases the eye while asking questions of the heart. If Trotter’s name sounds . . . . Continue Reading »
In the name of decency, humanity, and truth, we call on President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and all members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives to recognize and give public expression to the fact that Christians in Iraq and Syria—along with Yazidis, Turkmen, . . . . Continue Reading »
What is the role of the icon painter? We can only begin to answer this question by turning to the fact of the Incarnation—“And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Christ is the “icon of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). It is because the second person of the Trinity . . . . Continue Reading »
Last week in the Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens had a column entitled “The Trumpkins’ Lament.” Here is the opening of the commentary: In the 1980s, Eddie Murphy had a hilarious skit in which he explained how it was that Jesse Jackson, then running for president, had a plausible shot at . . . . Continue Reading »
The nativist Know Nothing movement—officially known as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, and as the American Party when it entered formally into electoral politics—flashed across American public life in the mid-1850s. It heralded the demise of the Whig Party, and the Second Party System . . . . Continue Reading »
A week ago, the White House confirmed President Obama’s intentions to “fulfill his constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor to Justice Scalia.” The President echoed those words a day later, promising to provide the Senate with an “indisputably qualified” nominee. For their . . . . Continue Reading »
Not enough has been said about how Pope Francis—a man of strong intuitions and vivid language—lives in and has been formed by literature. He regularly cites and recommends imaginative works like José Hernández’s Martín Fierro, Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World, and Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed. And he thinks by their patterns. Whereas Benedict strove for a concise, clear scholarly expression, Francis seeks the striking images and strong characterizations of the storyteller. Over here are the good guys, over there the bad. Continue Reading »
My Friend, the Former Muslim Extremist
Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
If You Don't Honor Chastity...
Eve Tushnet, Patheos
Francis, Contraception, and the Zika Virus
Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek, Catholic Thing
Heroic Failure and the British
Bernard Porter, Guardian
Escaping the Amish for a Connected World
Olga Khazan, Atlantic
Christ Tears Off Our Scales: Aslan, Eustace, and the Pain of Confession
Fr. David Poecking, Ethika Politica
Harper Lee: Last of the Literary Recluses
Julia Dent, Acculturated
The Desert Fathers
Mallory Ortberg, Toast
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