Prophecies

I’ve listed below just a few prophetic words from people I hold in high esteem. Each of these brief comments seems, at least to me, applicable to our current situation. That situation is a movable feast of sorts, but an indigestible feast rushing quickly to something truly demonic. We will soon reach a point where human actions will be unable to save us from a worldly future driven by those captivated by evil. That’s when God will step in as he has again and again. What He will do, how He will rescue us…well, that’s likely to be quite a surprise. But like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, God calls on us to plead the case of the faithful ones [See Gn 18]. 

In the meantime, we must do our part and never fear speaking the truth, not only among family and friends, but also openly in the public square. But first we must come together prayerfully as the people of God filled with hope. And remember, hope isn’t just wishin’ and dreamin’ — not at all. Hope, as a theological virtue, is our firm confidence that God will answer our prayer and fulfill His promise to care for us and pour out His peace on us, all over us, and into our confused and troubled hearts. "Peace be with you" Jesus says to the confused and doubting.

Keep in mind that prophecy involves the proclamation of God’s Word and only occasionally addresses future events. Prophecy, then, is simply the revelation of God’s will for us. That said, read these comments and consider their truths:

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.” ~ St. Paul [2 Tim 4:3-4] 

“We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.” ~ Pope Benedict XVI, 2005

“The hero can never be a relativist.“~ Richard M. Weaver, 1948, Ideas Have Consequences

"I don't need a church to tell me I'm wrong where I already know I'm wrong; I need a Church to tell me I'm wrong where I think I'm right" ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

“For the first time in human history, most people are doing things that could never interest a child enough to want to tag along. That says less about the child than about us.” ~ Anthony Esolen

“Schooling deprived of religious insights is wretched education.” ~ Russell Kirk, (1986). “The Assault on religion: commentaries on the decline of religious liberty”

“The modern state does not comprehend how anyone can be guided by something other than itself. In its eyes pluralism is treason.” ~ Richard M. Weaver

"We do not need a censorship of the press. We have a censorship by the press... It is not we who silence the press. It is the press who silences us." ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

“When one remembers how the Catholic Church has been governed, and by whom, one realizes that it must have been divinely inspired to have survived at all.” ~ Hilaire Belloc

“It may be a movement towards becoming like little children to admit that we are generally nothing else.” ~ Charles Williams, Descent into Hell

“When the whole world is running headlong towards the precipice, one who walks in the opposite direction is looked at as being crazy.” ~ T. S. Eliot

“We’re surrounded by a lot of noise. The world tries to drown out God’s voice. How many never take the time to listen for God’s call, or even believe He’s calling them?” ~ Me (2022)

"Rather than shivering in the cold, modern man has preferred to set the house on fire, and dance for a moment in the final conflagration" ~ Roger Scruton

Summer Reading

Even though I'm officially retired, life still slows down for me during the summer months. Many of our parishioners are "snowbirds" who head north to their summer homes under the mistaken belief that it will be better somewhere else than it is in Florida...Not! It's always better in Florida, even in the summer months. Anyway, this seasonal migration typically means fewer demands on my time. For example, the two Bible Study sessions I facilitate at the parish go on summer hiatus. The upshot? I have more time for leisure activities, especially reading.

During the past few months I've purchased a number of books and set them aside for my summer reading. Most of you who check out this blog regularly -- at least as regularly as I write in it -- probably don't give a hoot about my reading habits. But I make this list more for myself than for anyone else. By posting the titles here I turn this reading list into a public promise, one I will more likely fulfill. You see, with the addition in my life of more leisure time I can get a wee bit lazy. When I plop my slightly overweight body into my comfortable easy chair each evening, I might opt to watch a rerun of American Pickers instead of reading Augustine. And so, the list.

First, some general non-fiction titles...

Permanent Things, Ed. by Andrew A. Tadie & Michael H. McDonald; Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995. A collection of essays about some of the 20th century's greatest minds, true conservatives such as T. S. Eliot, G. K. Chesterton, Russell Kirk, C. S. Lewis, etc.

Small Is Beautiful, by E. F. Schumacher; Harper Perennial, 1973. Subtitled, "Economics as if People Mattered", this is one of more influential books of the 20th century. I simply never got around to reading it, although a few years back I read the author's A Guide for the Perplexed and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm particularly interested to see how this economist's thoughts mesh with the distributist ideas championed by Chesterton and Belloc.

Beginning at Jerusalem, by Glenn W. Olsen; Ignatius, 2004. Subtitled, "Five Reflections on the History of the Church", the book looks at the Church during five different historical periods and examines how she has maintained her essentials and how she has developed over the centuries.

The Fortunes of Permanence: Culture and Anarchy in an Age of Amnesia, by Roger Kimball; St. Augustine Press, 2012. This book won't be released until the end of June, so I have it on order and hope to receive in in early July. I read a couple of reviews and it sounds interesting.,

Then, some biographies...

Bishop John Carroll

A few months ago, while roaming through a used bookstore, I came across two biographies of members of the Catholic Carroll family of Maryland. Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832) was a Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his cousin, John Carroll of Baltimore (1735-1815), was the first Catholic bishop and archbishop in the United States. I found the two books leaning against each other on one of the shop's bookshelves.

Charles Carroll of Carrollton, by Ellen Hart Smith; Harvard University Press, 1942.

John Carroll of Baltimore, by Annabelle M. Melville; Charles Scribner's, 1955.

After reading these two books, I intend to see if more recent biographies have been written on these two men, since modern scholarship might well shed additional light on their lives and work.

And some fiction...

Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle; Ballantine Books, 1977. For many folks, science fiction is one of those genres they ridicule in public but read in secret. Here, however, I declare openly that I actually enjoy science fiction, certainly not all of it, but the writing of certain authors; for example, Gene Wolfe and Walter M. Miller, Jr. For more than 30 years now several friends, knowing what I enjoy in the genre, have been urging me to read Lucifer's Hammer. So, finally, I bought it and intend to start it this evening.

Charles Williams

All Hallows' Eve, by Charles Williams; Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1948. Charles Williams who, along with C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, was a member of the famous Inklings, wrote this book not long before he died in 1945. I actually read it, along with Williams' six other supernatural thrillers about 30 years ago. In those days, before the arrival of internet booksellers it was hard to find Williams' novels. And then, one day, while browsing in a Cape Cod bookstore I found all seven, newly reprinted by Eerdmans. I bought them all, read them one after another, and enjoyed each one immensely. I've decided it's time to reread them and will start with All Hallow's Eve because I've always considered it the best of the seven.

Finally some poetry...

Dante's Paradise, trans. by Anthony Esolen; Modern Library Classics, 2007. Dr. Esolen, a professor at Providence College, is one of those remarkable people whose work never fails to educate and delight. I've already read his translation of Dante's Inferno and Purgatory, and now look forward to being lifted up heavenward by his translation of Paradise. And don't neglect Dr. Esolen's other books; they're all wonderful.

Farming, A Hand Book, by Wendell Berry; Counterpoint Press, 1971 (2011). A book of poetry (and a play) by this contemporary, rural American poet whose work, much like the Psalms, always calms me. And that's saying a lot considering I'm so citified and suburbanized.

Use the comment function to share some of your summer reading...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Are You a Child of God...or of Someone Else?

Anthony Esolen,who teaches Renaissance English literature and Western Civilization at Providence College, is one of those remarkable men -- a true Renaissance man -- without whom the world would be a duller and darker place. I got to know Professor Esolen and his lovely wife only casually when I worked at Providence College back in the mid-1990s, and I have been following his academic and literary career and enjoying his work ever since. I could fill this post with praise of him and his writings, but there's really no need. Let me just say I have never read anything he wrote that I didn't enjoy and from which I didn't benefit. I can say that about only a handful of writers. If you, too, want to share in this benefit, jump over to amazon.com and check out his books. I have been particularly enlightened by his remarkable translation of Dante's Divine Comedy and his wonderful book, Ironies of Faith.You might also visit his website: Anthony Esolen

I mention Professor Esolen because of his essay published today on TheCatholicThing.org. In this brief essay he protests against the world's view of the child as a thing lacking true worth and human dignity. Although this is nothing new, today it takes on new meaning because of its near universal acceptance among those who wield the power to spread this evil. I encourage you to take a moment now to read his essay.

He concludes his essay with a reference to Jesus' admonition to become like a child. As a deacon, I'm often asked about this teaching of Jesus, which for many seems to be one of the more perplexing, and consequently most ignored of His teachings. It occurs in a scene found in all three of the synoptic gospels. For example, in Matthew's Gospel we read:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" [Mt 18:1-6].

Mark describes a similar scene:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea [Mk 9:32]...And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them [Mk 10:13-16].

...and in Luke, we find:

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" [Lk 18:15-17].

In the ancient world children had few if any rights. Indeed, a child was less a "he" or a "she" and more an "it". A child was totally dependent on the will of his parents and other elders. A child was in a sense unimportant in his present reality, and important only in his potential. We can see this manifested in the behavior of the disciples who rebuke those who would bring children to Jesus for His blessing. You can almost hear them say, "Why are you wasting His precious time with these unimportant children? He's got better things to do." Jesus, of course, will have none if it and not so subtly contrasts the self-importance of the disciples, who seem to have assumed a combined role of bodyguard and social secretary, with the enforced humility of the child.

The adults in the scene have active roles while the children are passive creatures, pushed forward by their parents and pushed away by the disciples. The child's humility is, in some sense, forced on him simply because of the nature of his relationship with adults. They have all the power while he has none. One translation of  Jesus' words does not use the word "humility" but instead reads, "Whoever considers himself of little account like this child..." And so Jesus is telling the disciples that they must become by deliberate choice what the child is out of necessity. This isn't a suggestion on His part, but a requirement: "...unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

The adults in the scene are certainly not acting as if they are "of little account"; rather, they are trying to control the children, each other, and Jesus Himself. One wonders if the disciples came away from this encounter with a true understanding of what Jesus was telling them. Probably not. Jesus was always turning the world of those around Him upside down, always taking the accepted wisdom and reversing it to reveal the truth. This did not make people happy.

This, I believe, is why these particular words of Jesus are so often ignored. Like the adults in this scene from the gospels, to obey Jesus too many of us would have to upend our entire world. "Unless you turn..." Unless you turn away from the wisdom of the world, unless you turn from all that you thought was right and turn instead to the source of all truth, unless you turn to Me with the same joyful heart of this child on whom My hand rests, unless you reclaim the innocence, the humility proper to your very being, unless you do this you will not enter My Kingdom.

The First Shall Be Last (James Tissot)

For many who listened to Jesus, and for many today, this is a hard saying. To reclaim one's childlike innocence in a world ruled by sin and materialism, is too much to ask. To accept voluntarily the humility that is proper to our nature, the humility we force on the child, is contrary to how we understand the world and its works. To become impoverished like the child, to become "poor in spirit", is to sacrifice our independence. It is to be like Mary, who prayed, "He has looked upon the lowliness of His handmaid."

And so, like the disciples, we watch perplexed as Jesus takes a child -- a real child, not some abstract notion of humility or innocence -- and places this little person, this real live human being, this child of God "in the midst of them." He then places this child above them, "for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Once again, the least becomes the greatest, and we are given a choice. This is what Jesus always does. This is His message. You have a choice. You can follow me and live, or reject me and die. You can live as a child of God or you can join forces with the devil. He never offers a middle-of-the-road alternative.

Today, as Professor Esolen eloquently describes, we have purged those in the womb who commit the modern sin of inconvenience. And those who survive? We squeeze their innocence from them, one drop at a time. Instead of turning and becoming like them, we force them to become like us. The guilt of the world is not a pretty thing to see, and we must pray that we heed Christ's warning: "...but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Rules for Young People Considering Marriage

Dr. Anthony Esolen, a Professor of Renaissance English Literature at Providence College, is a true renaissance man. His translations of Dante -- Inferno, Paradise and Purgatory -- are among the best in a very crowded field. He's a senior editor at Touchstone, a wonderful publication that I regularly recommend to Christians of all denominational stripes. He's also the author of a number of books that populate my humble home library, including, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization and Ironies of Faith.

I had a few conversations with Dr. Esolen years ago when I worked for Providence College and was trying to get a corporate training center up and running. As I recall he was a newly arrived English professor. I remember thinking, Now here's a very bright and likable young man, a man of strong faith and common sense. I had no doubt that he would go on to good things as he made his mark in the academic world. Since then he's done all this and more because, unlike many very intelligent folks, he also writes extremely well, and has a robust sense of humor.

I recently came across something he wrote back in 2008 that deserves much wider distribution, especially to young people who are considering marriage. He calls them "Esolen's Rules." Devised by him and his wife, they are aimed at helping people decide whom they should (and should not) marry. I'll include just a few here, but I suggest you go directly to the source and read them all...

1. Don't marry a woman who likes cats but does not like dogs.  You may marry a woman who doesn't like either, or whose reason for not liking dogs is that one of them bit her when she was a toddler.  But a woman who likes cats but does not like dogs will be a Joan Crawford or Jane Wyman.  Ronald Reagan married Jane Wyman, and look how sorry he was about that.
2. Don't marry a man who is neater than you are.  You may, however, marry a man who polishes his tools and puts them away after use....
3. Don't marry anybody, man or woman, who says, "I'm going to call you at eight," and then leaves you waiting by the phone for an hour.  Exceptions can be made for people who are kidnapped by Arabs, or who have epileptic seizures.
4. Don't marry anybody who insists on a separate bank account, bed, bathroom, vacation, or zip code.  It makes no sense to be one flesh and two wallets.
5. Don't marry a woman who spends more on makeup than she does on food.  In general, don't marry a woman who engages in the sin of reverse gluttony.

Click here to read the rest: Esolen's Rules. There are 15 more.

Oh, yes, his latest book, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, has received wonderful reviews from people I trust who recommend it highly for parents.

Another Weekend Away

Later today Diane and I head off to Orlando to attend our diocese's diaconate continuing education weekend. And so, once again, you will experience a weekend free of my ramblings and misguided thoughts. If you are among the handful of odd folks who actually look forward to what I have to say...well, you'll just have to wait until next week.

For those who are interested, I am taking two books with me. The first is Ironies of Faith by Anthony Esolen, a book I have been looking forward to reading for some time. I met Dr. Esolen, who teaches at Providence College, when I worked there back in the 1990s. Very bright, a wonderful scholar, and a man of deep faith, he's also an excellent writer...oh, yes, and his translation of Dante's Divine Comedy is among the best I have read.

The other book I plan to take with me is Jean Danielou's The Infancy Narratives. I bought a 1968 paperback edition of this little book, now long out of print, a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. I have enjoyed many of Cardinal Danielou's other books and thought that, with the approach of Advent, this would be a good choice. Like many of Cardinal Danielou's books, it's hard to find a copy, but if you're interested, click here to choose from several used copies.

A brief comment on another very different subject...

A few moments ago I received a phone call from a parishioner who is very distressed about what he believes is happening in the world and the Church. And while I agreed that the world is in terrible shape -- the world is always in terrible shape because it is the "world" -- as Christians, as Catholics, we can never succumb to the world's constant call to despair. Our faith must always engender hope. The two go hand in hand. And the two, working together in our hearts, give birth to love. Love must be the driving force in our lives, the cause of all that we do. As I tell the folks who volunteer in our soup kitchen, you shouldn't be doing this out of a sense of duty; you should do it out of love.

Please keep Diane and me in your prayers, that this weekend will be inspirational as well as educational.

God's peace...