Religion
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original fault
Despite Shûsaku Endo's doubts about the true Christianity of the Japanese, as evoked in the admirable "Silence," it also seems to me that the Japanese have a real fundamental point in common with the Christian in the ease with which they put themselves in the place of the other. Is this not one of the founding bases of Christianity, one Continue reading
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Forgive me, there will always be something left...
In this little reflection on forgiveness, I just wanted to come back to the inadequacy of saying sorry. Forgiving is sometimes extremely difficult. I admit that I still hold some grudges deep in my heart. I constantly confess them and ask for a little grace to soften the hardness of my heart, but no, Continue reading
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What death for the West?
It is increasingly sweet to me to hear these speeches from Westerners gargling about the death of Catholicism, the death of this old skin of religion, when it is not simply the death of God. Continue reading
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Tribute to Jean-Marie Domenach
Rereading notes taken 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 starting to explain to him in detail the direction I'm taking. Continue reading
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The path of God passes through our humanity…
Extraordinary passage from Blessed Cardinal Newman: By sinning, by suffering, by correcting ourselves, by improving ourselves, we advance toward the truth through the experience of error; we obtain success through failure. We do not know how to act well except after having acted badly. […] We know what is good not from Continue reading
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Tibhirine's breath
It's an intelligent film. And in saying that, a lot has already been said. In an age where stupidity reigns supreme, making an intelligent film about faith allows you to get your head above water and inflate your lungs; to be satisfied. Of Gods and Men exemplifies the life of monks. What Continue reading
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Philia, agapê and other little things…
The Greeks used three words to describe love: eros, carnal love; philia, friendship; and agape, mature, accomplished 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... Continue reading
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What Monsieur Ouine says in our time…
Monsieur Ouine, one of the greatest French novels of the 20th century, provides many answers to the modern world as it is. The following few quotes provide a glimpse of the evil that is everywhere. Continue reading
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Notes on History of Catholicism
Notes from Jean-Pierre Moisset's History of Catholicism (chapter 9: The Shock of Modernity (mid-18th century — 1870). p. 394. The ritual of touching the scrofula at the end of the coronation, still practiced, is losing its credibility. Symptomatically, the formula of imposition, the formula of laying on of hands is changing. It was "the king Continue reading
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Smet's Father
There are some incredible stories. Pierre Jean Smet's is one of them. Chatting with my friend JB du C. with the same joy the other evening, I told him about my idea of a priest arriving in Japan in the 1830s, something almost impossible. Japan was completely closed to the outside world; the Meiji era Continue reading
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The secular and modern world
There is the beautiful Italian word "vergogna", there is the French word "shame" which has been emptied of its meaning in modern times. Who has not found themselves in the middle of a dinner with dear friends wanting to flee the place, flee so as to no longer have to endure the stupidity, the incoherence, the words Continue reading