Phaeton his father’s fiery chariot could not guide, But reckless, hapless, frenzied, destructive, set earth aflame. He, light from light and living Fire from His Father leaping, Brightens minds, kindles wills, and glorifies God’s holy Name.
Category: Literature and Poetry
Laetabundus: The Sequence That Would Not Die
With Pope Saint Pius V’s reform of the Roman Rite in 1570, many liturgical Sequences that sprung up in sundry dioceses of western Christendom were expunged from the Roman Missal. Four were kept. They were the Victimae Paschali Laudes of … Continue reading
Holy Fear
Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear, O my God. Take from this soul what is wild and untame. Gently lead me from the paths that I’ve trod. Place in my heart a great awe for Thy Name. I do … Continue reading
Two Sonnets for Two Ladies
To Lady Concupiscentia O Lady, you are beautiful, yet cruel, As haughty dames in courtly love songs are. You draw me by your charms and I, a fool, Race quick to you, though virtue would me bar. Icarus-like I flew … Continue reading
Savoring Reality
This paper was written for a Festschrift in honor of Dr. Robert Hickson. It was intended to be a loving tribute to my superior, teacher, mentor, and friend, Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M. Savoring Reality: An Introduction to the Childlike Catholic Mind … Continue reading
The Rhyme of Icarus
Icarus, Dicarus, Doc. D’Kid’s head, it was a block! He flew too high, and fell to die. Icarus, Dicarus, Doc.
I Was There
[Dedicated to Rev. Michael A. Jarecki] I was there when it was time to baptize a new member, Also before Mass to help you vest when you couldn’t remember. I was there bright and early for you to absolve me … Continue reading
November
My thoughts are now all deathly dark In this November tide. The Holy Souls, so sad and stark, My mercy do betide. They languish all in helplessness No merit them to gain. It would be horrid heartlessness To pity not … Continue reading
A Conversion Story for Our Time
Review of Young Tony and the Priest: Coming to Belief in an Age of Unbelief, by Gary Potter. Loreto Publications, 2012 This, my friend Gary Potter’s first foray into fiction, is a lovely story. Lovely in that it is filled … Continue reading
Probatica
Dedicated to the healing angel who fixed my rosary the other day. From burning empyrean sphere An angel does leap down, Descends to Bethsaida’s mere And stirs its waters round. The healing angel, Raphael It is we may be sure … Continue reading
The Isolation of the Soul
Examining the theme of loss and the isolation of the human soul through the thinking of Chesterton, Belloc, and Baring, this paper considers some of the theological, moral, and psychological matters — both the causes and the effects — while … Continue reading
Precious Blood, Holy Grail
Medieval romances generally fell into four categories: the Matter of Rome, which dealt with such classical heroes as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar; the Matter of France, whose tales were inhabited by Charlemagne and such heroes as his nephew … Continue reading
Appreciation
This poem is dedicated to judgmental people everywhere.1 Your virtues, they are vices; Your deeds are each a sin. Inside no tad of goodness; Your bright veneer is thin. Your thoughts must all be darksome Your plans self-serving, too. That … Continue reading
The Presentation of Malitia and Guile in Melville’s Billy Budd
Through the kindness of the author, Professor Mitchell Kalpakgian, I was unexpectedly invited to comment on his own recent article in the April 2012 issue of New Oxford Review. What he wrote was a trenchant literary essay concerning Herman Melville’s … Continue reading
Joseph Pierce on Roy Campbell
Joseph Pearce recalls the extraordinary life of Roy Campbell, who hid St John of the Cross’s letters from anticlerical Spanish militiamen. As you read Pierce’s piece, recall that here in the good old U S of A, people were led … Continue reading