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.…
Category: Advancing the Kingdom
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…
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…
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…
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…
Philanthropy and social vibrancy
‘Eternal vibrancy’. Since coming across it recently I’ve been pondering this phrase. We are all familiar with the terms ‘eternal life’ or ‘life after death’ and more than likely give little thought to them other than a hope that such will be our destiny. But,…
Eternity, or the future?
“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and…
Cognitive dissonance
Those of you who are advisors on our donor advised funds may have received an attractive, ecologically friendly shopping bag over the Christmas holiday, a thoughtful gift from Edward H. Robinson, NCCF’s President. The bags bear the slogan “Faith working through philanthropy”. What, you might wonder,…