When Lent began, I had an inkling of what it would look like—the typical penances, spiritual reading, and whatnot to prepare for Passiontide and Easter. After all, it is a time to enter the desert with Jesus. This year, however, the desert around me transformed itself into something entirely unfamiliar. On St. Patrick’s Day, my … Read more
“In the end, the only memorable stories, like the only memorable experiences, are religious and moral. They give men the heart to suffer the ordeal of a life that perpetually rends them between its beauty and its terror.” ∼ Whittaker Chambers, Witness Evil loves the spotlight. It is exceedingly easy to perceive the chain reaction … Read more
On October 12, 1870, a good man closed his eyes on this world. Although loved by many, and respected by most at the time of his death, history has since laden Robert E. Lee with abuse and hatred. The change has been long coming, but Dylann Roof’s 2015 racist shooting raised disgust to a fever … Read more
You have your New Year’s Resolutions, I have mine. If you do not have the blight of Stink Bugs in your home, count your blessings. These walking shield-shaped sons of guns may not be poisonous biters, nor home destroyers, but they swarm our Midwest homes, and fill me with hatred. Christianity tells us not to … Read more
And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard, wondered: and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these … Read more
I recently had the great pleasure to introduce my five-year old son to George MacDonald’s The Wise Woman, or the Lost Princess: A Double Story. In the back of my mind I thought, “won’t these moral lessons be so good for somebody…” (thinking, of course, my son). It is true, my young son in his … Read more
Police shootings have been lighting up the media for the last couple of years, with incidents such as Philando Castile’s death in Falcon Heights, MN and Alton Sterling’s in Baton Rouge, LA continuing to raise questions and inspire protests this summer. Hardly had the nation composed itself before blood ran again, this time in Tulsa, … Read more
As the summer hangs hazily on the horizon before us, parents know that young minds and hearts must needs be awakened, and awakened well. Good stories have always allowed the readers to escape the perils of routine and lethargy that can quickly set in during the summer months. Marguerite de Angeli’s The Black Fox of … Read more
In one of my favorite Flannery O’Connor stories, Revelation, Mrs. Turpin—a very large, very cheerful, and heartily judgmental soul—amuses herself by mentally sorting people into their respective categories. She places all the people she looks down upon beneath herself and her husband, and only those who have more of what she and her husband have … Read more
By the time Chris Harper-Mercer killed himself on October 1, he had already killed and wounded a number of people at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, and sent the rest of the nation reeling in shock after yet another shooting spree. I will never forget the first time I ever heard of a public … Read more
An unfortunate occurrence in our era is the isolation of age groups, the idealization of youth, and the neglect of both the elderly and the very young. By isolating the age groups, gratitude and sacrificial love fall out of practice. But when generations live together, life falls into proper perspective, which fosters receptivity to the … Read more
I was all alone, and the pain was coming back. “Oh gosh. Oh dear God.” Quickly it escalated to an electric pitch. Sudden and unexpected these words gasped out: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls.” More like a scream this time: “JESUS MARY JOSEPH! I love you, save souls!” The pain abated … Read more
Shelves overflow with Harry Potter, the Twilight series, The Hunger Games. Repugnant youths pass for heroes; the more bull-headed, the better. Parents? Pooh. The modern hero is flirting with pusillanimity should he consult with the pater. That is, if father even graces the story. Both mothers and fathers have felt the literary snub; yet fathers … Read more