Evil. It’s everywhere in popular culture. Ours is the land of movie and TV heroes and superheroes, after all. As much as the entertainment press … Read More ›
I welcome this opportunity to introduce the poetry of Seamus Heaney to those of you not already familiar with it and to say something about … Read More ›
Call to mind, if you will, the halcyon days at the good old university, drinking port and singing along to the Tom Lehrer songs, “Bright … Read More ›
Like anyone moving to a new home, my husband and I had certain things we were looking for: proximity to a Biblical church, driving distance … Read More ›
In my previous essay, I laid out Aristotle’s conception of perfect friendship and how it can form the backdrop for a healthy marriage. The essay then turned to exhorting fellow men on why they should care about perfecting themselves before marriage to better live out the sacrament. However, my previous essay was negligent in practical tips. While many other sites and books have offered countless advice on this, I offer some more here. I want to focus on cultivating the kind of soul that is capable of self-gift. Again, to reiterate my earlier point, marriage isn’t an institution that “fixes’ men. Yes, it can temper them and point their desires in the proper direction, but it’s not a switch where one instantly becomes the best version of self. It can only work on what’s already there. What does this look…
Without too much fanfare, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics remains a classic that ought to be studied over and over, even as the literature on it continues to grow at an alarming rate. This author apologizes for adding to the ever-growing slag-heap. However, examining Aristotle’s understanding of friendship is useful not only for those who wish to live friendship better, but also for a proper understanding of marriage. For this second part, John Paul II’s Theology of the Body serves as the most recent examination of this, albeit with a slight twist. Coupling Aristotle’s examination of friendship with John Paul II’s Theology of the Body can serve as an exhortation for both men and women more broadly, but particularly young men who wish to be married. Aristotle’s examination of virtue and the moral life ends with an examination of friendship, something that seems possible only after…
When I was a child, I remember thinking that being grown-up was a destination or a finish line to cross. Now, after graduating college, getting … Read More ›
In 1977, right between the release of Jaws and E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Steven Spielberg made Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While by no means … Read More ›
First published in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby shares Nick Carraway’s reflections on the summer and fall of 1922 …