Book Review: The Church And New Media by Brandon Vogt

About ten years ago, (Hmm...let me check my archives), no scratch that, about a year and a half ago (sheesh, it seems like ten years!) I was hosting the YIMCatholic Bookclub selection The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc. Looking for ways to get readers involved (a "new media" hallmark, no?) I asked for volunteers to cover several of "Old Thunders" chapters for me.

Because Vincent de Paul Was Once A Muslim's Slave

Life got you down? Things perhaps haven't turned out as you planned? Do you think everyone else has got it so easy? Your neighbors, for example, or those fortunate people who come into a considerable sum of money?

And how about those saintly types? They are simply walking on air, those guys, living lives of complete and blessed beatitude, right? Hold up!

For Evelyn Waugh's Prayer of a Convert

Psst...I finished reading Evelyn Waugh's novel Helena. I think it is fantastic and I enjoyed it immensely. Reading it makes we want to head with my family to the Holy Land on pilgrimage, bankrupting us in the process. St. Helena, as the empress dowager, never faced that particular financial aspect of her own journey to Palestine.

Gone Readin' Helena by Evelyn Waugh

Why haven't I been posting much lately? You can blame Fr. Steve Grunow, who suggested the book you see above to me a few days ago. I've never read anything by Evelyn Waugh, and I'm not ashamed to say that for most of my life I figured Evelyn was a lady, and I wasn't much interested in what she had to say.

For All the Saints: John Chrysostom

Today is the feast of St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church. Of course, there was a little snippet on him over at Universalis and sundry other places, like here. But my curiosity gets the best of me, see,  and I want to know more. That is one of my many faults.

Because Now I Know Today is the Birthday of the New Eve

I came pretty close to spending an entire lifetime on planet Earth without knowing that it's Our Mother's birthday today. The painting above reflects this event from the perspective of a contemporary Russian artist named Vasili Nesterenko, who painted this in the year of Our Lord, 2002. Here's a little something else I found in the old Roman Breviary over on the YIMCatholic Bookshelf. Genealogists might get a kick out of it.

Because Takashi Nagai Could Give Such A Speech

The other day, I posted about a movie being made about the life of Dr. Takashi Nagai. Today, I want to share with you a speech he gave. Keep in mind that he had lost his wife, almost all of his students, and many of his colleagues when "the Bomb" was dropped on Nagasaki. And his lesson to us all was to share Our Lord's new commandment: love one another. 

For Thoughts from the Guide for Catechists, With a Little Help From My Friends

The next time the Easter Vigil rolls around, I will have been a Catholic 4 full years. But those of you who have followed my conversion story know that I sat in the pews with my wife, and later with my children, for close to 18 years, and that I started exploring the faith in earnest in the Fall of 2006.

Eventually, around the Summer of 2007, I read The Seven Storey Mountain, Thomas Merton's conversion story that was published in 1948. It turns out that 1948 is also the year that Lou Tseng-Tsiang published his Ways of Confucius and of Christ, and his friend John C. H. Wu published his From Confucianism to Catholicism a year later in 1949. More on this synchronicity shortly.

Want to Fight Truthiness? Come to the YIMCatholic Bookshelf. Please.

Sheesh! I wonder if the video below was done before or after the allegations of problems with the staff of Real Catholic TV came to light. It is so far off the deep end, as you'll see. Anyone with access to books can refute this asserted notion in under two minutes.

The Rainbow (A Few Words For Wednesday)

A wiser man than I once said,

When, indeed, the artist desires to teach us a great spiritual truth, he invariably expresses it under the form of an allegory or symbol. For the soul dreams 'neath the star-sown sky of symbol. It is spiritually its lisping language—the divine form of its expression.

Because God Became Human To Save Us All

The title of this post says it all. Why bother becoming a Christian unless you believe this? "God became human to save us all." And if you do believe it, why not practice the ancient faith of the earliest Christians? The one that, despite criticisms attempting to prove the opposite, has developed since Christ ascended to heaven, and yet has not done so at the expense of Biblical truth.

Recognizing Grace in a Manual Transmission

This past week, I've been on vacation. Actually, it's been a "stay-cation," with me working on little projects around the house. The repairs to our home after the hail damage (from the storms back in April) needed to be managed as well. And then there was my car.

The Suffering Church: Scandal

This is the final part of a three part series. Some folks thought I was skating on thin ice by mentioning heresy yesterday. What now? Surely, Frank, you didn't join the Catholic Church because of scandal? No. But at the same time, it didn't deter me much either. You know the old line, right? Hate the sin, but love the sinner. Well the Church is chock full of sinners, and it couldn't be otherwise.

Persecution of the Church from Within: Heresy

This is part II of a three part series of sermons by Fr. Cornelius Joseph O'Connell on the ever-persecuted Church. Today, the good priest turns his attention to persecution inflicted by members of the Church. That is, until they break away and leave the barque of St. Peter. Remember that line by the character "Chef" in the movie Apocalypse Now? "Never get off the boat!"

Welcome to the Ever Persecuted Church!

Of the many reasons that my (former) partners and I have written of answering the title of this blog, this is one that I've never mentioned but I do so now. Persecution. You would have to have your head solidly buried in the sand to miss the fact that of all the great religions the world over, only Christianity, and her members, is constantly bashed, battered, and attacked.

For "Ghetto Catholicism?" Not Hardly.

The thoughts I share with you now were originally published in 1961, and in English in 1963. Yet today, to this humble reader at least, they seem prophetic. Taken from the first chapter of the first volume of the title you see below, Fr. Karl Rahner, SJ, explains why in the Post Christian world of today, opting for the ghettoization of the Church is a non-starter.

From the Treasure Chest: A Primer on Natural Law

My friend John C.H. Wu was a highly regarded jurist and professor of law. He had a close friendship with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of the U.S. Supreme Court. It turns out that one of the reasons he converted to the Catholic Faith was that the Church embraces what is know as the Natural Law. The same goes for his friend Dom Lou Tseng-Tsiang.

For Thoughts Like These On Confession

What follows are thoughts on the Sacrament of Reconciliation written by Kenhelm Henry Digby in his classic, Mores Catholici.

Would You Believe Because Rock Music and Theology are Compatible?

As regular readers know, I've shared music on the blog practically since Webster invited me aboard. I don't recall how it happened, but I remember when he posted a YouTube video in a post and I thought, "wow, that is cool. I wonder if Webster would let me post some music videos too?" We did a post together in January of last year, and by then the fledgling project got off the ground in earnest.

For Books By Dead Jesuits, Like The Catholic's Ready Answer

Yesterday I published the Music for Mondays post early. Therein, I commented that Catholicism is so deep and so wide, that ideas for writing about it will never be exhausted. But the fact of the matter is, folks like the shiny new stuff better than the old, moldy stuff already sitting in the libraries of the world.