Novena for France
What a beautiful initiative! A novena for France. A novena to express our love for the Blessed Virgin and ask her to watch over us with all the saints...
Tag: history
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...
The abandonment of Benedict XVI
“Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?” 1 When Benedict XVI signified, in a few simple words, that he was renouncing the office of pope, it was a trembling of...
In the heart of darkness, life
After seeing "Tree of Life," I for a long time forbade myself from writing about the film. Two forces clashed within me. Captivated by the poetry, by the state...
In the shadow of Ernesto Sabato
When Ernesto Sabato passed away on April 30th at the age of 99, he repeated to himself the words of Maria Zambrano: "To die, this elusive act that...".
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 Notre-Dame du Lys chapel, but...
Newman and Socrates
The links between ancient Greek philosophy and Christianity are numerous. The most famous of the Greek precepts: Gnothi Seauton, "Know thyself,"...
And by Saint Anthony… (Death of General Antoine Lecerf)
Antoine is no more. He passed away on Good Friday, April 22, 2011. He is in the house of the Father. Antoine is Antoine Lecerf, the general of...
Book reviews about Japan
I just finished reading "The Samurai's Mask," an essay by Aude Fieschi (Philippe Picquier Publishers). It's an informative, well-written book that...
Emmanuel Todd or intellectual vulgarity
Emmanuel Todd was on France Culture the other morning to deliver his gospel. Emmanuel Todd is a prophet. He has the eloquence. He has the...
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...
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 towards the truth...
The Breath of Tibhirine
It's an intelligent film. And by saying that, much has already been said. In an era where stupidity reigns supreme, making an intelligent film about...
Notes on the History of Catholicism
Notes from Jean-Pierre Moisset's *Histoire du catholicisme* (chapter 9: The Shock of Modernity (mid-18th century – 1870), p. 394. The ritual of touching...