Ascension Thursday

Yesterday I went to mass for Ascension Thursday. Of course, it was an evening mass, since I work; it was at seven p.m. I didn’t expect there to be a lot of people there, but I was a little surprised to count (OCD) less that fifty adults. I understand some people probably went to mass […]

Happy Feast Day

Happy feast day, Saint Athinasius. We really appreciate you saving Christendom from the Aryan heresy. [at least until Calvin and the Unitarians]

Reflections on Sin

For Lent, I was thinking. . . [inspired by something I read] If we take sin in general, and then think about the very first sin, that of the angels, the mercy of God becomes evidently clear. Imagine the fall of the angels, one sin, one non serveam, and condemned to hell for all of […]

Season’s Readings

No idle word should be uttered. I understand a word to be idle when it serves no good purpose, either for myself or for another, and was not intended to do so. Hence, words are never idle when spoken for any useful purpose, or when meant to serve the good of one’s soul or that […]

What would St. Thomas say?

About six day creation? Why, let’s ask him: I answer that, in discussing questions of this kind two rules are to be observed, as Augustine teaches. The first is, to hold the truth of Scripture without wavering. The second is that since Holy Scripture can be explained in a multiplicity of senses, one should adhere […]

The Confessions of non-Saint Beitiathustra

I hate to argue. I know that may come as a slight surprise to those who know me, but it’s true. Incontinence is the issue. If I read, hear, see anything that I disagree with I can’t hold my tongue (or my typing little fingers). Self-justification? Perhaps I see no reason to believe anything unless […]

Science, virtue and morons

I was thinking yesterday evening about the reluctance of certain people to accept the role science plays in human understanding. But then, in contradistinction, I thought about how scientists are unable to keep their conclusions within their own realm of human knowing (trying to talk about God, morality, society and so forth). Then it occurred […]

Obedience

In an attempt to provide a counter-example to someone (you know who you are) I give the barest bones argument on obedience as it occurred to me. 1 God exists? a: yes b: no if b forget the whole thing, if a continue 2 God has a will? a: yes b: no if b go […]

Rate your friends on the VELAWIG scale

Okay, I hear a lot about the Fatima proclamation that most souls go to hell for sins of the flesh. Reasonable. But what bothers me is that the common interpretation (at least in the circles where I hear an interpretation of this) is that these sins of the flesh are confined solely to modesty. Now […]

Religious

What is religious? I have the suspicion that what is religious, more often than not, degenerates into mere religiosity. Call it the religious sentiment, if that nomenclature is preferable. Posturing and positions based on feeling a certain psychological what-have-you. Give me your Thomistic deductions, your Protestant exegesis – fill me with historical and scientific imperatives. […]