Author Archives: Thomas

Here are few excerpts from Catherine Ruth Pakaluk’s book, Hannah’s Children. Dr Pakaluk is an economist and professor at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America. The book includes many interviews with women who have chosen … Continue reading →

“One would be in a position to appreciate James better if one compared him with the dramatists of the seventeenth century—Racine and Molière, whom he resembles in form as well as in point of view, and even Shakespeare, when allowances are made for … Continue reading →

I rarely post on politics anymore, being more interested in religion. Nevertheless, here’s a link to a post by Sasha Stone: https://sashastone.substack.com/p/why-trump-is-polling-ahead-of-biden

From Thomas Joseph White’s The Principles of Catholic Theology, Book 2, page 44: Where ought one to begin when making discernments about ultimate truth, or what ought we to presuppose as we start out? Arguably we should not leap immediately … Continue reading →

The below is from pp 42-44 in Thomas Joseph White’s 2024 book, The Principles of Catholic Theology Book 2: On the Rational Credibility of Christianity (in Chapter 1 Why Not Be an Atheist? The Enigma of Human Existence and the … Continue reading →

Bible Study resources from my little library: A) Preliminary 1) From the Ukrainian Catholic Catechism: Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity (pp 15-32) 2) Providentissimus Deus (On the study of Holy Scripture), encyclical of Pope Leo XIII B) Commentaries and … Continue reading →

For thousands of years performance art has revolved around a two hour performance criteria, plus or minus some time. Movies have not really changed that; however, long form tv drama is doing new things. The long form tv dramas of east Asia have no real … Continue reading →

The main Christian Sunday service has two predominant styles, albeit with various mixtures, the Rhetorical and the Liturgical.     The rhetorical style is dominant among protestants and is characterized by the congregation sitting and listening to a learned sermon lasting about an … Continue reading →

The below is from Thomas Hopko’s 40 day devotional book ‘The Winter Pascha’, from the second meditation, on ‘come and see’: The story (John 1:43-51) is typical of St John’s gospel. The people first encounter the man “Jesus of Nazareth, … Continue reading →

My little library has one line: Eastern Orthodoxy; Alexander Schmemann For me, that consists of three books:

In the Byzantine rite for Orthros (morning prayer/Matins) on Sunday, after the reading of the Resurrection gospel (see below), we say: Now that we have seen the resurrection of Christ, let us adore the all-holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless … Continue reading →

Before addressing solidarity, I want to categorize social structures in general as: Any actual social structure will, of course, have some overlap. I’m primarily interested in Family and Civic structures; furthermore, I consider large businesses to be best considered as … Continue reading →

In the first few verses of Exodus there is a shift in perspective, from the tribal (the 71 offspring of Jacob, v 1.5) to the people, the Israelites (v 1.7 and cf Genesis 32.29) filling the land of Egypt. This … Continue reading →

This is mainly for background for me to use when teaching, as appropriate for various age levels from 4th grade to adults. It is also a place for me to store reference materials for my 9-10 year old Sunday School … Continue reading →

A placeholder for notes on my six favorite composers Related books: I’m not a musician; however, I grew up listening mostly to classical music from the romantic period. In the Navy, I discovered Mozart and Hayden and then, in the … Continue reading →

Having been amongst a ‘trainload of fools trapped in a magnetic field’, Bob Dylan had, so to speak, a changing of the guards when he stripped and kneeled and said ‘Lord, Lord, you know their hearts are as cold as … Continue reading →

Ward Farnsworth, Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, writes on a wide range of topics. His series on Classical English is special in its quantity and range of examples. The series consists of: From Preface of his … Continue reading →

From Wikipedia: The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is the largest Catholic community in Syria and Israel, and the second largest in Lebanon. As of 2014 the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was the largest Christian community in Israel, with roughly 60% … Continue reading →

One can pray anywhere, of course. However, I expect most have favorite places to pray and for me that is in the nave of a parish. Whether sitting or standing, whether alone or with many, whether in joy or in … Continue reading →

Alexander Schmemann, of blessed memory, wrote a concise history of Eastern Orthodoxy that deserves to be more widely read, particularly by Eastern Catholics. Here is the foreword to ‘The Historical Road to Eastern Orthodoxy’: This book is not a scholarly … Continue reading →