Wondrous and Silly

by Margaret E. Perry

On a bright day in early autumn, I found myself sitting on the floor of my favorite bookstore with a pile of picture books two feet . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Dec 2009

The Feast of Saint Therese

by Sally Thomas

I didn’t know it until I started googling around this morning, but right now the relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux are touring the United Kingdom. Today she’s at York Minster; more about the itinerary here.Swine flu fears aside, if you’re in the neighborhood, go and say a prayer . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2009

Celebrating International Blasphemy Day

by Sally Thomas

So, here’s what they suggest doing. In the contrarian spirit of Saint Jerome, whose feast it was first, here are some alternative ideas: Put a WWJDrive bumper sticker on your 15-passenger van. Tell a girl that growing up to be a wife and mommy is an interesting and intellectually satisfying . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2009

Live-Blogging the Eucharistic Congress

by Sally Thomas

Well, really I’m not. I’m back home now, and the children have just gone to bed, most of them, after some moments of franticness over a white shirt a certain personage of this household has to wear to march with the Holy Crusaders in the Eucharistic procession tomorrow morning. Yes, yes, . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Sep 2009

Meanwhile, Back in the First Communion Classroom . . .

by Sally Thomas

We’ve been making great use of this striking coloring book, from the Hillside Education imprint. This isn’t so much a coloring book in the usual sense as simply a book of reproducible coloring pages, which feature intricate stained-glass-effect images of saints for every month of the . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Sep 2009

Is Loyalty a Virtue?

by Will Wilson

Perhaps I was raised in an overly-Confucian manner, but Conor Friedersdorf’s latest sets my head a-buzzing with questions and my stomach a-churning with unease. Of course, insofar as an administration must work as a team toward common ends, its employees should be loyal so long as they are . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Sep 2009

I Love Churches. I Love Bookstores.

by Sally Thomas

And this makes me want to cry. So does the commentary: It’s good to know that churches don’t have to remain houses of ignorance. Gives one hope for the day when all such places could be put to good use.Well, I think it’s time for a cup of tea and a nice, light, entertaining read . . . . Continue Reading »

23 Sep 2009

The Friday Shopping Channel: Magna cum Updates

by Sally Thomas

It’s a rainy day here in the Carolina foothills, and I have been out in the driveway washing the dog. What possesses a person to wash a dog in the rain? Well, I think “possesses” is the key word here, because having just finished washing a dog in the rain, I can’t really . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Sep 2009

Olde Tyme Hardcore

by Samuel Goldman

So the fall semester is finally in sufficient order that I can return to blogging. I don’t imagine that I was particularly missed. But I’ll proceed on the assumption that at least some readers liked to alternate their reflections on the very serious matters we usually discuss with one . . . . Continue Reading »

17 Sep 2009

Dignity and Identity

by James Poulos

In comments below on my post about Yuval Levin’s book, Imagining the Future , Michael Peterson asks : “Will someone, somewhere, define human dignity?” Not me, at least not in this post . . . but here’s an account of what needs to happen first. One of the best passages in . . . . Continue Reading »

16 Sep 2009