Sooner or later, my body will become a corpse. A corpse looks alien. It’s both strangely familiar (so clearly my body), yet utterly unrecognizable (so clearly not me), putting on display the jarring indignity of death, the separation of my … Continue reading
life
Who is Your Shepherd?
Who is your shepherd? Whose sheep are you? We’re all sheep, following some shepherd with docility or butting against the goad. Either way, we’re all sheep who must decide in whose flock we wish to be counted. Sheep become like … Continue reading
In Defence of “Thoughts and Prayers”
After a tragedy, politicians take to Twitter and TV and offer their “thoughts and prayers” to victims and families. For some it seems to be an automatic response to terrible suffering. In the last two months there has been a … Continue reading
Preaching the Word, without Words
Editor’s note: This is the ninth 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
The Women Who Brought Spices
The Lord is on my head like a crown, And I shall never be without Him. They have woven for me a crown of truth, And it caused Your branches to blossom in me. For it is not like a … Continue reading
Into the Pit
In the end, evil destroys itself. This is certainly a comforting thought, but it can be hard to remember as we look upon the world. One of the functions of literature is to make these kinds of truths clearer for … Continue reading
The Big Plan
A few days ago, I heard a talk Bishop Robert Barron gave to the seminarians of Philadelphia. He told the graced story of the Word on Fire apostolate and gleaned from it some guiding principles for proclaiming the Gospel through … Continue reading
A Seamless Garment
At His crucifixion, Jesus was stripped of His clothing, and the soldiers divided it among themselves. His tunic, however, “was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down” (Jn 19:23), so the soldiers instead cast lots for it. Because … Continue reading
Lord, that I may see (more than myself)
After listening to a talk about the dangers of narcissism in the spiritual life, a brother turned to me and said, “I’m pretty sure that whole talk was about me.” I assured him that the talk was definitely about me. … Continue reading
Buried in the Prairie
Today I will be burying my grandmother. After 96 years of life, she returned to the Lord in the early morning of Easter Sunday. Despite the sadness, everyone in the family, every branch in that great tree, thought to themselves, … Continue reading
Faith and Ordinariness
Christians have faith in the supernatural and live supernatural lives. So why is it that so much of Christian life seems ordinary? Given the extraordinary experiences of the saints, it may seem that they lived a different kind of life … Continue reading
March for Life
And what you thought you came forIs only a shell, a husk of meaningFrom which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilledIf at all. Either you had no purposeOr the purpose is beyond the end you figuredAnd is altered … Continue reading
Living in the Light
Once, in botany class, I conducted a memorable experiment. After planting a number of beans, I placed half of the young sprouts in a greenhouse and half in a dark cupboard. Each day, I would water the young plants and … Continue reading