“I believe in ferment, a society in which the bubbles rise up and explode with little new thoughts. Not just freedom like ‘I’m going to shoot my gun.’ But freedom in not having to repeat stale bromides, not having to please power with their production.” theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

Good question. "What’s notable is how Francis finds himself almost alone among world leaders in urging humanity to beat swords into ploughshares; and how among elite Western opinion, his calls are greeted with indifference." newstatesman.com/comment/2024/0…

“The great achievements of the West — in science and technology, in the arts and architecture; all our beliefs about charity, compassion, and social justice — are fruits of the Incarnation and the truth it reveals about human nature and human destiny." angelusnews.com/voices/gomez-d…

This is so thoughtful. And sad. "Our plan of life has been to put off the old patterns of adulthood. There will be plenty of time for that, for now there’s a vacation, a concert. But something is missing in a life made up of only these things." firstthings.com/article/2024/0…

"Faithful ministry isn't glamorous. It's pointing people to a God on a cross whose strength is made perfect in weakness. Hardly compares to waging a culture war. That’s the problem w/ Christianity. Its weapons look ridiculously weak to a watching world." firstthings.com/web-exclusives…

What a sad story. “Wills decided recently he’s no longer Catholic: ‘St. Augustine didn’t believe in the eucharist, he didn’t buy transubstantiation, fought against a papacy. I consider myself an Augustinian Christian.'” chicagotribune.com/2024/05/30/gar…

Scenes from today’s ordination #NewLAPriests

"Something's happening in the world today, something exciting. There’s a new movement of the Spirit. Everywhere around us, we can see the signs: God’s love is breaking into the world, and into the lives of the men and women of our times!" angelusnews.com/voices/gomez-o…

This is a delightful read: “Richard has been trying to help me with the typing of this letter,” Orwll wrote to a friend, in a line that any work-from-home parent can appreciate." nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/…

Lovely writing: "A series of revolutions crashed through our lives, previously filled only with ambition, long days of work, wanderings in foreign countries and too much wine. We found an insatiable need for what I would now call the authority of God." thelampmagazine.com/blog/the-river…

This is a great essay: “…the deepest problems we face in the opening decades of the 21st century: neoliberal capitalism and meritocracy; IQ, biotechnology, and the return of eugenic ideology; universal basic income and what to do with “useless bodies.” compactmag.com/article/the-bl…

“When religion in any traditional form is excluded from the public square, it does not mean that the public square is in fact naked. The vacuum will be filled by ersatz religion, by religion bootlegged into public space under other names.” compactmag.com/article/the-cl…

“Life under Communism was principally a tragedy,” Kadare writes, “but a tragedy with comic, not to say grotesque, interludes. Life over all could be described in those terms, as a tragicomedy.” angelusnews.com/voices/farewel…

"Now, suddenly, I’m no longer the social scientist, I’m a preacher. I’m trying to say, we’re not going to fix polarization, inequality, social isolation until, first of all, we start feeling we have an obligation to care for other people." nytimes.com/2024/07/13/mag…

A break from election madness. ...

But in truth the whole course of Christianity from the first, when we come to examine it, is but one series of troubles and disorders. Every century is like every other, and to those who live in it seems worse than all times before it. The Church is ever ailing, and lingers on

youtu.be/9DAQ8Az5Gpc?si… Courtesy of the great James Howard Kunstler. Orson Welles as Father Mapple, delivering Melville’s prophetic sermon on the eternal delight that awaits those who resist the “billows of the seas of the boisterous mob,” and stand up for God and truth “against the proud

Moby Dick (1956) - Father Mapple's Sermon Courtesy of the great James Howard Kunstler. Orson Welles as Father Mapple, delivering Melville’s prophetic sermon on the eternal delight that awaits those who resist the “billows of the seas of the boisterous mob,” and stand up for God and truth

Local LA news channels have turned since last night to 24-7 coverage of the #PalisadesFire. No more mention of the #EatonFire. Wonder why. Maybe it just stopped burning and threatening lives? #wildfires