22nd
May 2013
I deny that biology can destroy the sense of truth, which alone can even desire biology. - G. K. Chesterton, The Long Bow "Papa, tell us some fairy tales!" all the children cried in a single voice. "If you promise to be good, and not to fight, Patrick and Anna, and to pay attention, Sally, and when I’m finished to go straight to bed, especially you two, Elizabeth and Pippa.” “We will, we will,” everyone promised. “Okay, then let us begin,” their father said. ... (Continue reading)
In Ireland, my ancestors were offered a devil’s bargain by the otherwise good people during the potato famine. At that time, well-intentioned but misguided folk would provide soup to starving Irishmen on the condition that they renounce their Catholic Faith. The sentiment of the Irish peasants was expressed in the song that they sang in the streets of Dublin: “Souper souper ring your bellsouper souper go to hell.” My paternal ancestors faced a similar problem only three hundred years earlier, in Lancashire, ... (Continue reading)
“Perhaps it was rather rude of me to turn my back, but upon my blessed word, I—I’d never heard such a thing in my life!” - G. K. Chesterton, The Conversion of an Anarchist On New Year’s Day, after Mass we were getting the coats and hats on the children, and generally getting ready to leave. I was on the edge of the pew, beside the centre aisle, where everyone was filing past on their way outside. I finished getting mittens on my ... (Continue reading)
I was speaking with a colleague, Fred, who is an atheist, and he told me that he preferred to use Xmas on his Christmas cards rather than Christmas. This, he said, would not give offence to people who did not accept the entire Christian association with Christmas. Never mind the obvious, that there is no Christmas without Christianity. This reaction to Xmas is a common mistake, and one that we ourselves can easily fall into. I pointed out to him ... (Continue reading)
It was coming up to Christmas and I was sitting in the living room looking at the Christmas tree, deciding whether to light a cigar to celebrate the holiday. The rest of the family was getting supper ready, and my problem was whether I had time to enjoy the cigar, or if I should wait until after supper. A pipe or cigar is not for everyone. Some people prefer to pass the time by recycling garbage; others find fulfillment in getting flu ... (Continue reading)
“Therefore your end is on you, Is on you and your kings, Not for a fire in Ely fen, Not that your gods are nine or ten, But because it is only Christian men Guard even heathen things. "For our God hath blessed creation, Calling it good. I know What spirit with whom you blindly band Hath blessed destruction with his hand; Yet by God’s death the stars shall stand And the small apples grow.” G. K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse Many of the traditions that are associated with ... (Continue reading)
“What can go wrong?” I asked, “the book says it is safe, and it shows a picture of the thing. Listen! It says right here that there are no poisonous puffballs, and this is a puffball.” We had found some puffballs in the field behind our house, large round mushrooms about the size of a fist or a bit bigger, and I insisted against my wife’s pleading that we not have them for supper. Mushrooms are funny things, and mushroom books are even funnier. ... (Continue reading)
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!’’ But it’s “Saviour of ’is country,’’ when the guns begin to shoot; Yes it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please; But Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool—you bet that Tommy sees! - Rudyard Kipling, 1892 Pacifism is a religious version of a wolf in sheep’s clothing; a mockery of the obligation to labour for peace in the world; a caricature of that zeal for peace that is ... (Continue reading)
Every Christmas my family and I read aloud Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. And every Christmas we thoroughly enjoy it and are impressed with how applicable it is to the world today—maybe even more so than when it was written. I guess it is like how I imagine really good wine that gets better with age to be (I have to rely on supposition because the family purse will not allow for gustatory examination). However, another ... (Continue reading)
True, he was taken up for a common drunk, but (if you properly appreciate his conversion) you will realize that he did not mind; since the crime of drunkenness is infinitely less than that of spiritual pride, of which he had really been guilty. - The Modern Scrooge, G. K. Chesterton When we moved into our old house, there were lots of things that needed to be fixed. Some repairs were urgent: we ran out of water the first week, so we ... (Continue reading)
When I was growing up, my immature self believed that the family rosary was something that had to ...
"I'm heartbroken to announce that last week, we discovered a crushed consecrated Host beneath one of the kneelers," ...
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - ...
Several years ago, when I was working on a community theatre project, I overheard two little girls having ...
My friend blogged the other day about how her boys, when allowed to have whatever they want for ...
I deny that biology can destroy the sense of truth, which alone can even desire ...
In Ireland, my ancestors were offered a devil’s bargain by the otherwise good people during ...
“Perhaps it was rather rude of me to turn my back, but upon my blessed ...
I was speaking with a colleague, Fred, who is an atheist, and he told me ...
It was coming up to Christmas and I was sitting in the living room looking ...
“Therefore your end is on you, Is on you and your kings, Not for a fire in ...
“What can go wrong?” I asked, “the book says it is safe, and it shows ...
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!’’ But it’s ...
Every Christmas my family and I read aloud Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. ...
True, he was taken up for a common drunk, but (if you properly appreciate his ...
In 1993, when I was a young married man with a growing family, I received ...