Some people talk to let you see How beautiful their words can be, And some, their meaning to convey, But some to keep it hid away.
Category: Literature and Poetry
Longfellow’s Catholic Affinity
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the greatest poets to grace the sunrise of American literature in the mid-nineteenth century, had more than a passing interest in Catholic themes. Study travels to the European countrysides, which were granted him by Maine’s Bowdoin College, … Continue reading
Santa Filomena
Whene’er a noble deed is wrought, Whene’er is spoken a noble thought, Our hearts, in glad surprise, To higher levels rise.
Longfellow and Tolkien: the Finnish Connection
What do the “shores of Gitche Gumee by the shining Big-Sea-Water” have in common with the “Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie”? The Protestant American author of Evangeline and The Song of Hiawatha is not generally associated with the … Continue reading
The New Law
I speak not now ‘midst awesome clouds Nor give my law on stones, For now I’ve come to be your Child In flesh and blood and bones.
Freedom in the New Age
We are free at last in this new age, We are free to ravage and to rage, A free press we have, a freer stage.
The Message of Faith
Listen, my heart, to the message That only hearts understand; For the depth to the depth is calling
Divine Alchemy
O merchant who from distant land Came seeking pearls on earth, Hold back Thy gold, Thy silver spare For things of higher worth. For only worthless clay we give Against the price You pay. But Ah! He said, My Alchemy … Continue reading
Who is next?
It need not be the one, expecting to depart, The one with the ailing lungs or failing heart. Not always one engaged in a bloody strife Or one embracing danger in a ventureful life.
Contribution Of Catholic Letters
(This is the paper written in preparation for a talk given at the 2005 St. Benedict Center Conference.) (Saint Anthony Mary Zaccharia, July 5, 2005) The Contribution Of Catholic Letters To The Conversion Of Our Country A deepening, savored knowledge … Continue reading
Evelyn Waugh’s Edmund Campion
(28 January 2006, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Peter Nolasco) Forming a Catholic Resistance and Deeper Culture of the Faith in Times of Permeating Disorder: Evelyn Waugh’s Edmund Campion (1935) and Some Combatant Lessons from the Sixteenth Century The scope and … Continue reading
The Hound of Hell
Pray for the fragile daughter, And the frail, infant son, Whom, at the font, the baptismal water I pour upon.
A Note on History
One of the few things on which most Americans will agree is that dates are not worth remembering. A typical conversation might run like this: “Oh! You’re going to college?”
How to Write a Book
Fifty-four years ago three sisters called Mary, Pauline, and Teresa spent an hour of joy in each other’s company. The youngest sister, Teresa, told tales of her childhood with such charm that the other two were captivated.