I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Abide in me, … Continue reading
Friendship & Happiness
In That Order!
In high school, I had an excellent American Literature teacher. Let’s call him Mr. Mario Monti. Mr. Monti showed us he cared. He prepared his lessons. He encouraged questions. He cracked jokes. He also corrected us. Mr. Monti kept things … Continue reading
What are you fighting for?
We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them. —Bilbo Baggins Life is a great adventure, and as every seasoned adventurer … Continue reading
A Helper to Till the Garden
In the Genesis passage at Mass today, God seeks to create a suitable “helper” for the man he placed in the garden. We know the rest of the story. God presents the newly formed woman to the man, who exclaims: … Continue reading
Religious Sign Value
Just a few weeks ago, a man approached me as I marched with my brothers and sisters up Constitution Avenue. “Hey! I was curious … who are you guys?” Having commonly fielded this question, I answered, “We’re called Dominicans. We’re … Continue reading
A 70th Anniversary
Seventy years ago today, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. This declaration quickly became the most translated document in the world, available in over 500 languages. The language of rights … Continue reading
I Didn’t Pick Them
Thanksgiving is over. Hopefully we all had a pleasant time and remembered to keep being thankful for all of the blessings God has placed in our lives. But, if there is any truth at all in the stereotype presented to … Continue reading
Friendship is Rooted in Charity
Who is your best friend? How do you define your relationship? Perhaps you know what brings each other joy and you will that for each other. According to the dictionary definition, a friend is someone who is “one attached to … Continue reading
Friendly Justice
The last time I set foot in a McDonalds, I witnessed an injustice. Not a grave injustice—something minor, but nonetheless a system which failed to respect the entirety of the human person. I saw, for the first time, automated and … Continue reading
La Noche de La Caridad
Something beautiful will happen in Buenos Aires tonight. At around 6 p.m. a group of people will begin to congregate at the convent of St. Dominic in San Telmo, one of the city’s older barrios. There they’ll begin to prepare … Continue reading
Christian Happiness
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains the radical moral vision of Christianity. Quite striking is the way in which he begins this explanation. He does not commence his sermon with an abstract exposition of morality. Nor does he … Continue reading
A Friendly Visit
For our joy to last, we must share it with others. Unfortunately, in modern society people too often seek antidotes to sadness and loneliness as if these two plagues weren’t related. We ward off sadness by medication and seek companionship … Continue reading
On Valedictions
As we near the end of May, we end a month of graduations and commencement ceremonies. A whole new generation of young adults has been sent into the world with degrees in hand. A venerable tradition for universities today is … Continue reading
All We Need Is Love
No generation passes without affording us some deeper insight into what it is to be human. Professors opine, poets and songwriters construe their craft, and politicians enact laws all to enlarge our experience of life, even if at the end … Continue reading
I Have Called You Friends
The only apostle who died before the Resurrection of Jesus was the one who betrayed him, Judas Iscariot. The mission of Judas’ apostolic office went unfulfilled, and the number of apostles fell to eleven. After Christ’s Ascension into heaven, however, … Continue reading
No One Will Take Your Joy
Joy is not the primary goal of the Christian life; rather it is one of the results or “fruits” of that life. Because we cannot fake true joy, the Christian life does not consist of a forced smile and the … Continue reading
The Vision of Friendship
Editor’s note: This is the tenth post in our newest series, reflecting on the Hillbilly Thomists’ recent, self-titled album. The series will run each Tuesday and Thursday throughout the Easter season. Read the whole series here. This post concerns the … Continue reading
You Zombie Friends
Scrolling down your social media page you might see regular updates from an old friend or acquaintance whose life has long since gone in a different direction, with whom you maintain no real contact. These online friends perdure in a … Continue reading
An Everyday Search
Perhaps you’ve found yourself caught in the suffocating everydayness of life. Get up, eat breakfast, go to work, pick up the kids, make dinner, watch TV, go to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. Every morning’s alarm might as well be the … Continue reading