Religion
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Priest of the "Benedict XVI generation"
Dear Father, It is with great pleasure that I bid you farewell. Not that I am happy that you are leaving the Chapel of Our Lady of the Lily, but because I am happy to have met you and that you are continuing your priesthood, setting an example of the priest according to Benedict XVI. Yesterday, for the feast of… Continue reading
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Newman and Socrates
The links between ancient Greek philosophy and Christianity are numerous. The most famous of the Greek precepts, Gnothi Seauton, "Know thyself," inscribed at Delphi, retains a certain mystery. Another fragment of the phrase has remained with us: "But not too much"... Know thyself... But not too much! Plato leads Socrates to reflect on the Delphic formula in... Continue reading
Catholicism , ethics , ancient Greece , history , Newman , Our Lady of the Lily , Plato , political correctness , priest , religion , Socrates , Zenit -
Emotion at Notre-Dame du Lys
A profound emotion was felt by all the faithful of Notre-Dame du Lys this morning at the 11:15 am Holy Mass. A delegation of Iraqi Christians from Baghdad was present, as well as an Iraqi priest who spoke simply and movingly about the massacre of last October in… Continue reading
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Original fault
Despite Shûsaku Endo's doubts about the true Christianity of the Japanese, as expressed in the admirable "Silence," it also seems to me that the Japanese share a fundamental trait with Christians: their ability to empathize. Isn't this one of the cornerstones of Christianity, one… Continue reading
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Forgive me, something will always remain…
In this brief reflection on forgiveness, I simply wanted to revisit the inadequacy of saying "sorry." Forgiving is sometimes extremely difficult. I confess I still harbor some resentment deep in my heart. I constantly confess it and ask for a little grace to soften the hardness of my heart, but no… Continue reading
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What kind of death for the West?
It is increasingly pleasing to me to hear these speeches from Westerners reveling in the death of Catholicism, the death of this old religious hide, or even the death of God himself. Continue reading
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Tribute to Jean-Marie Domenach
Rereading notes I took years ago while reading Jean-Marie Domenach's *The Return of the Tragic*, I remember our meeting. I see him arriving at my small studio in La Fourche, asking me for a glass of wine, and me beginning to explain in detail the direction I… Continue reading
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God's path leads through our humanity…
An extraordinary passage from Blessed Cardinal Newman: By sinning, by suffering, by correcting ourselves, by improving ourselves, we advance toward truth through the experience of error; we achieve success through failure. We do not know how to act rightly except after having acted wrongly. […] We know what is right not by… Continue reading
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The Breath of Tibhirine
It's an intelligent film. And saying that is already saying a lot. In an age where stupidity reigns supreme, making an intelligent film about faith allows us to rise above the waters and fill our lungs; to find sustenance. Of Gods and Men exemplifies the lives of monks. What… Continue reading
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Philia, agape and other little things…
The Greeks used three words to describe love: eros, carnal love; philia, friendship; and agape, mature and fulfilled love. Is love only there to comfort us? Shouldn't we seek to give meaning to love, as to every event in life? Only meaning saves the human condition. Meaning… The… Continue reading
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What Mr. Ouine says in our time…
Monsieur Ouine, one of the greatest French novels of the 20th century, offers many answers to the modern world as it is. The following quotes provide a glimpse into the evil that insinuates itself everywhere. Continue reading
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Notes on the History of Catholicism
Notes from Jean-Pierre Moisset's *Histoire du catholicisme* (chapter 9: *Le choc de la modernité (mid-18th century – 1870)*, p. 394). The ritual of touching for scrofula after the coronation, still practiced, is losing its prestige. Symptomatically, the formula for the laying on of hands is changing. It was "the king… Continue reading
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Father de Smet
There are some incredible stories. Pierre Jean Smet's is one of them. The other evening, while chatting with my friend JB about C., I shared my idea of a priest arriving in Japan in the 1830s—something virtually impossible. Japan was completely closed off from the outside world during the Meiji era… Continue reading
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The secular and modern world
There's the beautiful Italian word "vergogna," and there's the French word, emptied of its meaning in modern times, "shame." Who hasn't found themselves in the middle of a dinner with dear friends, wanting to flee, to escape to avoid enduring the stupidity, the incoherence, the remarks… Continue reading