Why I write
A simple phrase is enough to shake one's inner life: "Why do I write?" A certainty takes shape, paradoxical and burning: writing is pointless...
Tag: ethics
The gold digger
One day, his only desire, he fulfilled it effortlessly each day. He would get up and mentally count the time it took him to do it. He counted the time...
An outline on authority, or a definition of the progressive.
Following the article, "Why this hatred of authority?", I received numerous reactions. The first consisted of confusion, or of asking me not to...
Exile, migrants and the Holy Father (2)
Reflections on the Holy Father's various statements concerning migrants: The migrants arriving in Europe today are not all fleeing a catastrophic situation...
Prayer of the craftsman
12th-century monastic prayer: Teach me, Lord, to make good use of the time You give me for work… Teach me to combine haste and slowness….
Antigone, defiant and intimate (7/7. Love)
Part 7 and final part: Love. Antigone's desire is familial; she does not want to leave her brother unburied. Creon, on the other hand, desires to...
Identify
Identity is divided, on the one hand, into a foundation that is within us, without which we can derive any particular merit, our nature, and on the other hand, the education (culture) that we...
Antigone, defiant and intimate (6/7. The vocation)
So many stories about identity! The word appears neither in Greek epic nor in tragedy. Identity in Antigone's time is based on...
Antigone, defiant and intimate (3/7. Destiny)
Part 3: Destiny. Man descends from the tree. Man, like the tree, is defined as much by his roots as by his fruit. Man, like the tree...
Antigone, defiant and intimate (2/7. The funeral)
Part 2: The Funeral — “My dearest Ismene. I came this morning to tell you that I've taken care of everything. I used the same funeral home for…”.
Antigone, defiant and intimate (1/7. The family)
Part 1: The Family From the very first reading of Antigone, an ambiguity arises in the reader's mind. Does Antigone embody the action or...
To which saints should we pray?
The Marcial Maciel affair forces us to confront the question of Evil. Our era avoids engaging with it. What do we know of the work of the devil, and what can we do about it?.
News about humility
The human vision of humility is like the human vision of love: limited. Humility must exert its authority at all times and in all places.
Letter to my friend Alvaro Mutis
One day in the 90s, we were walking down the street, we had just left the Hôtel des Saints-Pères, and Alvaro Mutis stopped abruptly. We were almost at the corner of the street...