Classical education in popular terms is induction into the presence of the celestial triumvirate, the Truth, Beauty and Goodness. More specifically, classical education is the development in students of the ability to discern and pursue these three realities. It is the discipline of the pursuit.…
Author: Dana Robinson
Madness in his method
We’re all familiar with the expression ‘method in his madness’. It implies an ordered purpose underlying the apparent insanity of a given activity, or a logical effort underway despite appearances to the contrary. Madness here is not anger. It is craziness, the destructive condition of…
American Federation Pueri Cantores
With 32 federations comprising 70,000 young singers worldwide, Pueri Cantores is the international student choral organization of the Roman Catholic Church, whose mission is to evangelize and catechize choristers through the medium of sacred music, aiding them in growing in their faith and rooting them…
The din of pandemonium
John Milton coined the phrase ‘pandemonium’ in “Paradise Lost” in 1667 to identify a specific location in Hell. As its etymology implies it refers to the widespread presence of evil spirits. The ongoing turmoil in Eastern Europe is an overwhelming manifestation of pandemonium, one which…
St. Ann’s Passionist Monastery and Basilica
More than a century ago, the Passionists, a preaching order in the Roman Catholic Church, arrived in Scranton to conduct missions and retreats. The people and the local clergy loved them so much that Bishop Michael Hoban of the Diocese of Scranton invited the Passionists…
The power of name
Names can be powerful. Consider the names of places which but for their prominence in military annals would be unknown to most of us, names like Thermopylae, Milvian Bridge, Lepanto, and Waterloo. We hear the names of these locations and are ennobled by the recollection…
Christocentric
A remark made thirty years ago by a professional colleague of mine at the time still sticks in my mind. The religious roots of his family tree had long ago atrophied and he was a member of what today would be called the “nones”. However,…
Polarizing forces?
“The opposite of love is not hate, it is fear”. This helpful advice offered in a recent parish homily invites further reflection. Do opposites exist at all? Isn’t antonymy simply the absence of a designated quality in one entity as compared to another? Why is…
Caritas Internationalis
Just over a week following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the UNHCR has reported over 1,045,459 people have fled to neighboring countries, including Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania as well as Bulgaria, with the hope of finding safety for themselves and their loved ones…
Truth, its consolation
When we experience a setback how many times do we hear a friend who’s found something positive in the situation say: “At least one consolation is…..”? Consolation – such a lovely word. Its Latin roots are con (with) and solacium (soothing relief or comfort in…