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Letters

I was very gripped by Kerri ­Christopher’s essay, “Three Christmas Dinners” (February 2023). I’ve not suffered such a thing myself, but just reading about the fractured family affairs of this essay induced in me a sense of emotional vertigo. I was cheered to read Micah ­Mattix’s essay, . . . . Continue Reading »

Let My People Go—For What?

Jews throughout the world celebrate the first nights of Passover, which commemorate God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt 3,500 years ago. The focus is the Seder, a meal at which a variety of commandments are fulfilled, most notably the eating of matza (unleavened bread) . . . . Continue Reading »

Peace in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine is passing the one-year mark as I write. In its early days, the determination with which the Ukrainians repulsed Russia’s attempt to overrun their country inspired and encouraged me. But as months have passed, I have begun to harbor misgivings. What’s the end game? What turn . . . . Continue Reading »

Great Scot

Rodney Dangerfield famously claimed to get no respect, but in fact he was admired enormously by his fellow comics. Though it feels faintly impious to liken Blessed John Duns Scotus to a comedian, the comparison is, at least in this regard, apt. Scotus has nothing like the reputation in the popular . . . . Continue Reading »

Who Killed the Catholic University?

Have you not heard of that mad Catholic professor who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours and ran to the marketplace, crying, “I seek Catholic higher education in the United States! I seek what St. John Paul II set forth in Ex Corde Ecclesiae!” As many who were standing around no . . . . Continue Reading »

Briefly Noted

Every few years, a book comes along that claims to have finally resolved the question of who discovered the individual—for Harold Bloom, it is Shakespeare; for Alain Badiou, it is Paul. In the prologue to her new book, Andrea Wulf attributes the discovery of the individual to the . . . . Continue Reading »

Bethany

In Bethany, what might the Lord have saidHad Martha never questioned Mary’s ways;If Mary were the one to speak instead?A very different question she might raise:“Lord, don’t you care that Martha will not sitAnd be attentive to your tender voice”?“O Mary, Mary, this I will admit:It’s true . . . . Continue Reading »

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