If my years as a counselor have taught me anything, it’s that there is much more to every human being than we can possibly know. However intimate a confidential disclosure may be, there is always more. More stories. More pain. And more joy. Every human being is a wonder, “unique and unrepeatable,” an unfathomable world … Continue reading The Life of Chuck: Pathos & Poetry Meet Dark, Existential Wonder
A weekly current events Jeopardy! competition hooked me on the news when I was a teenager. As all good teachers do in varied ways, my high school American history teacher opened a way of life to his students by helping them develop a positive habit. In his case it was the habit of keeping up … Continue reading Loving Your Neighbor while Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Contemplation on the News
T. S. Eliot, Ash Wednesday Lois Untermeyer, in Modern American Poetry, says "Ash Wednesday" is perhaps T. S. Eliot's most perfect poem. It's perfect for beginning a season contemplating both speech and silence. Eliot is best known for "his brooding masterpiece" The Waste Land, the cryptic condemnation of desiccated, fruitless modernism. In this, Fr. George Rutler … Continue reading T.S. Eliot: There Is Not Enough Silence
