Jolly Good!

Weekend Thoughts

It seems to me that many in Faith based circles are sensing a tectonic shift in American Culture. I believe this to be true. I do believe that many are overly alarmist, and that we are so closely entwined with the events and trends of the day that we do not have clear insight.

With these thoughts I was perusing my bookshelf and came across a couple books which apply to this situation, one lyrical, and one historical. Ballad of the White Horse is probably my favorite of Chesterton's works. For those unaware, it is a book length lyric poem about the battle between Alfred the Great and Guthrum of the Vikings. There is interpersonal tension, emotions of courage, fear, and cowardice, as well as the foreboding of being present at an epoch changing event.

The second book I paged through was H.W Crocker's Triumph. There are some areas that I think Crocker could delve more deeply into, but he does have to be brief in order to catch the whole range of his intended subject. What I notice from Crocker is the ebb and flow of history. Renewals and Renaissance follow periods of laxity and persecution. Easter Sundays follow Good Fridays.

Two very good and grounding volumes to gain some perspective.

Chesterton at Random

There's an old Christian tradition of when looking for advice or incite just randomly opening the Bible and reading the first passage that strikes your eye.

St. Francis of Assisi - I've just finished rereading Chesterton's delightful book about him - was said to have done that.

I have also done it, not only with the Bible, but also with writers I like. Chesterton is, of course, one of those writers.

Last night I grabbed a volume of the Chesterton's Collected Works - The Illustrated London News 1917-1919 - off the bookcase and popped it open. Here's the passage that his my eye:

"One preliminary point seems to me quite clear. If we are to make any attempt to tolerate all men, we must give up all attempt to tolerate all opinions." - "On `Maltheory'" April 28, 1917

I thought about our own culture - a culture that seems to be taking the opposite tack: Tolerating all opinions, but but not tolerating all people. But when you tolerate all opinions, then those opinions lose meaning - opinion itself loses meaning. We devolve into the realm of rationalizing - if rationalize is an appropriate word when we are abandoning thought - that all actions should be based on feelings. It becomes very much like trying to steer a boat without a rudder - and given our increasing rejection of faith, without sails to catch any wind. We wallow in the doldrums.

Another one of Chesterton's point in the essay is that it is easy to fall into absolutist opinions on issues, and along the way demonizing the other side. Yes, deplore what he does, but not him - "The assertion that the man is possessed of a devil is the only way of avoiding the assertion that he is a devil."

Is Obama a demon? Is Dick Cheney a demon? Is the pro-lifer a demon? The pro-choicer? The Republican? The Democrat? The bishop who does not promote and express the faith in the way we think is right? That rude clerk at the store? The college trustee who messes up our conference?

When we demonize people rather than point to the demonic in their actions, then we lose the ability to tolerate others. If we can no longer tolerate them, them even extreme responses toward them can, in some minds, become tolerable.

The world itself might begin to seem intolerable - and that would be intolerable.

Obama Clerihew (political!)

President Barack Obama
should not be confused with Osama,
but his anti-life ways
lead to more deaths these days.

Happy Birthday ...

to me......

34 Years old...Ive been married to one woman, been in 2 wars, had 2 kids, worked in 3 prisons, went to 4 years of college, had 5 cars, and Im stuck for all the numbers after that......

I notice as a look over Chesterton that we often fail to notice how his works do have a very wide timespan, from the dawn of the 20th Century to the eve of World War II. He saw many changes in Britain, in Europe, and the greater world, yet throughout his whole corpus he shows consistent qualities. Change and progress have gone from being simple slogans to now revealing themselves necromantic magic words with the power of changing the path of nations. It is interesting to note that as times change, Chesterton really does not. He develops as an Author and as a human being. His friendships with Belloc and others deepen. Although he does not truly "change", Chesterton stands above his peers as an advocate for liberty, freedom, and democracy throughout the tumultuous times that his career spanned. While those around him jumped from fad to fad, party to party, and movement to movement in search of finding how best to bring progress to mankind, GKC strayed very little from the pillars of orthodoxy and tradition and he outshines all of his now dated contemporaries.

The ridiculous and the sublime

Very interesting weekend.

Saturday night my son took me to see a theatrical production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” at a local college. And with out a doubt that was the worst evening of theatre I have ever had to endure. I have only walked out on one play in my life. This would have been the second except a friend of my son’s was in the play and he wanted to talk to him after the show. The only positive thing that can be said about this presentation was that the actors knew their lines. Many of the scenes were actually painful to watch. It’s not that the director butchered Shakespeare that bothers me because I’ve seen that before but the theatricality of that butchering was correct, (the operation was a success but the patient died sort-of-thing). It’s that this director butchered theatre.

Ahhh but Sunday was wonderful. Many of the youth of our Parish received their Confirmation today and what a great day to receive it – Divine Mercy Sunday. I was honored to be chosen lector for this day. The Bishop was there and in fine form. The master of Ceremonies was a young man a year away from ordination. I have known this man since he was a wise cracking fourteen year old. When he decided to become a priest I was wondering if I would be able to call him Father but seeing him today I saw he carries priesthood very well - he has become a good man which of course will make him a good priest. Calling him father will not be a problem.

There was an air of nervous expectation that was thick an juicy about the Church. The alter boys were very worried that they might drop the Bishops “hat and stick thing” the confirmantie were worried that the Bishop might find them unprepared and he would leave, (he’s done that before at other parishes) and I was worried that I might stutter and stumble through the readings. None of which happened – sigh of relief.

Some of the kids that became soldiers for Christ today were children I have known since they were babies. Many Graces were poured down upon us this day.

As Chesterton said, (from the Ball and the Cross) “The Sacraments are certain and incredible.” Today I saw that paradox in full flower.

Makes being upset about a horrible play production kinda stupid.

Dancing in Bed

For me Chesterton reveals the truth in two ways. The first is as if he takes off my glasses cleans them and says, “Now do you see?”

“Why yes I do. Thank you very much.”

The other way is that he simply reminds me of what is true. Stuff I already knew but have forgotten or things that were driven out of my head by ‘adult’ forces. Even in his innocuous sounding essays that might easily be passed over he reminds us of a joy we might have forgotten. These are usually a childhood joy that is still a joy if only we old folks could remember how to play the game. Both of these ways of course is what prophets always do.

In his essay “On Lying in Bed” he reminded me of the pleasure of doing ‘nothing’ of letting your mind float like a boat on a current. This is something I had not done for a looong time. So a few Saturdays back I rolled over to see my wife had already awoke and I was alone. I started to get up and get to it but told myself the list can wait and fell back into bed.

I reached over and put George Gershwin’s American in Paris in the CD player and lay back down staring at the ceiling waiting for the images to appear and appear they did. Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron began to dance for me. Strangely it was the part of Gene that I remember the best, It is not that Leslie is not a good dancer because she is; it is just that greatness lies in Gene. It is like looking at paintings by Rembrandt and a Norman Rockwell hanging next to each other. Both are highly competent pigment pushers but it is on the Rembrandt that eyes linger and rest upon. You can know everything there is to know about a Rockwell in a moment; there are no mysteries in his work no internal connection.

I then tried to imagine Fred Astaire in Gene’s role but that was absurd. Fred could never play the tragic hero. No more than Gene could have pulled off the Fred’s dancing up the walls in The Royal Wedding. When Fred danced on the ceiling we said, “Of course he can do that.”

Both of these men are Great dangers it is just that their greatness lies in opposite directions. Gene’s greatness is his constant struggle to break the law of gravity while Fred’s lies in his struggle to obey it.

This put in mind of Chesterton and Belloc. Belloc teaches us how to dig while Chesterton teaches us how to fly.

Next I put in Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and thought if Martha Graham’s dance within Isamu Noguchi’s sculpture (set). Perhaps the greatest collaboration of artist’s in the 20^th century. All those artists knew the central fact about art – Great art must tell a story - a story that holds universal truth. Martha, a pioneer of modern dance, never lost her ability to tell a story through movement – she never fell into that trap of dance for dance sake.

I could have gone like this for hours more except my wife, for some reason, refused to bring me up food and my youngest came in to remind me that I would dig her bike out of the garage today.

The up side that when I did get up I ignored my ‘to do list’ (except for the bike) and spent the rest of the day in my studio.

Weekend Thoughts

Greetings All,

In Gilbert Magazine it is my appointed duty to use the Illustrated London News essays as my primary source material. I have noticed that Chesterton never mentions economic statistics throughout the economic slowdowns of the 1930s and other periods. There is an online archive of ILN stories, http://www.iln.org.uk/, and it shows that many other ILN writers did get into the details and particular issues of the day.

Chesterton, it seems, always sees the eternal in the temporal, and sees the spirits behind the statistics.

I am trying very hard to do the same during our current times. I actually think that there are some silver linings to the current times. First, I think that the taboo regarding discussing finances is breaking down. People no longer buy into the "IF you are so smart, how come you are not rich," mentality. People of intelligence, energy, and talent are having difficult times, so financial status as a measure of self worth seems to be deteriorating.

Second, I think I am noticing some people, myself particularly, becoming more sincerely prayerful. I think that the flexing of political strength that arose from Evangelical Muscle and Catholic Brains has waned. It is part of our vocation to engage the world and stand up for truth, justice, and true mercy. It is also part of our vocation to remember the words of Scripture, "Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme over the Earth."(PS 46:10)

Hey, Im half late or half early........

.......from last or next Friday.

In my musings on philosophy of late, I came across something interesting regarding Greek thought. Im looking for other sources on this, but it appears that the Hellenistic kingdoms of Alexander the Great in Northern India had a great deal of longevity, absorbed in the end by the expansion of Islam. Using rounded numbers of 300Bc - 650 AD gives us almost a millenium, not too far off of the time of the English monarchy from Hastings until the present. The author in question is making the point that the ancient world was very "diverse" in what we would consider the modern sense, and that much of our thinking about diversity is a reaction to perceived abuses of colonial times.

What does this have to do with Chesterton?

I think it shows us that the search for truth is universal, and that the human race truly is a large family. With the possibility that the Greek Stoics had influenced Hindu and Buddhist scholarship, the world suddenly becomes much smaller, and Chesterton's brilliant image of The God in the Cave becomes that much more powerful. Human reason can only go so far before it reaches a point where it encounters a moment of anticipation of transcendence. The Greek Stoics, unlike there more cerebral Roman inheritors, did practice what we would today call meditation....realizing that intellect could only penetrate so far. I have written around this point for several weeks now, but I think that in dealing with contemporary culture this is the starting point. The discussion of Faith and Reason is a deep and rich dialogue that has spanned centuries. Our culture does not even see them as opposites, but defines Reason as logic, but dresses it up in leftist political utopianism, and likewise defines Faith not as an inner act of the person and an intimate expression of the soul, but rather as fundamentalist adherence to a denomination. How did we get to this point?

Chesterton - The Wedding Feast

"And, meanwhile, any one Catholic peasant, while holding one small bead of the rosary in his fingers, can be conscious, not of one eternity, but of a complex and almost a conflict of eternities; as, for example, in the relations of Our Lord and Our Lady, of the fatherhood and the childhood of God, of the motherhood and the childhood of Mary." - Where All Roads Lead

I'm not sure if Chesterton was one to pray the Rosary. I can imagine him starting to pray with a Rosary and getting lost in reflecting on some obscure topic he would somehow be able to link to a particular mystery, to the material of which the Rosary was made, or to a bee buzzing about the room.

He certainly knew of the Rosary - as the above quotation shows. Moreover, his great poem, "Lepanto," is about a victory many believers credit to the Rosary (along with a shift in the wind - a prayer-wrought miracle?).

Perhaps those wiser in the ways of Chesterton will know of some essay or poem dedicated to reciting the Rosary - or at least a reference to Chesterton's personal Rosary.

I am certain that he would not have known the Luminous Mysteries. They were promulgated in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. The Baptism of Jesus; The Wedding Feat at Cana; The Preaching of the Kingdom of God; The Transfiguration; The Institution of the Eucharist.

Those mysteries are meditated upon on Thursdays. As I said my Rosary this morning, I thought of Chesterton. I'm not sure that's what Pope John Paul had in mind, but so it goes. The mind at prayer goes where it will.

It was the second mystery that made me think of Chesterton.

The Wedding Feast. The Miracle of the Wine.

I smiled.

Chesterton appreciated food - even cheese - and drink, and joyful celebrations. I pictured him at the wedding, relishing that miraculous wine, and perhaps composing an ode to it that he would leave as a wedding gift.

As a poet himself, Pope John Paul might have appreciated it.

Chestertonian at the New York Times

I hesitatingly renewed my subscription to New York Magazine last month. I really like the magazine, but it leans left and at times is too risque to have around my children. My first post-lapse issue came yesterday. One of its first features: A profile of the New York Times’ new columnist, Ross Douthat (entertaining pdf link). I’d been reading Ross Douthat for a few years, primarily in The Atlantic. I always liked his stuff and thought, “Where has this guy been? We seem to think a lot alike, and not just because we’re both conservative.” It turns out the guy is a Catholic convert and a fan of G.K. Chesterton (it’s not often you see a Times columnist identify GKC as one of his “heroes”).

Once you read Chesterton, you start to think differently. Maybe that’s why the guy resonates with me.

By the way: He’s only 29.

A different view of G.K.

G. K. Chesterton

When Plain Folk, such as you or I,

See the Sun sinking in the sky,

We think it is the Setting Sun,

But Mr. Gilbert Chesterton

Is not so easily misled.

He calmly stands upon his head,

And upside down obtains a new

And Chestertonian point of view,

Observing thus, how from his toes

The sun creeps nearer to his nose,

He cries with wonder and delight,

“How Grand the sunrise is to-night!”

by Oliver Herford

from Confessions of a Caricaturist

(I stumbled across this at norumbega.co.uk and thought I'd share.)

Ohmmm..........This is what Im thinking about Chesterton today

It might be surprising for some to find out that I have read a great deal of the Dalai Lama's books in English. I find him a fascinating figure. He handles himself very well on the world stage, and has made a very strong case for his nation's plight before the world. As I read my way through life, I want to make a point of knowing about the world's full intellectual tradition.

And Chesterton has to do with this........how?

Chesterton was one of the first to notice how some of his contemporaries were attracted to Buddhism. Those familiar with Chesterton's corpus of works probably do not need quotes, be he wrote several ILN articles on this point as well as a fairly well thought out section in Orthodoxy where he makes a point of how some of the English elites of his time had glamorized Buddhism and taken it at face value, and were willing to overlook the social, political, and moral ills of Asia but not the cultural failings of the West......honestly we should realize that the whole human race is fallen.

The Dalai Lama has done several books with psychologists and researches seeking dialogue between Western Science and the Buddhist understanding of the inner person. Ive read a great deal of this, and the same double standard that Chesterton notices still exists. The Dalai Lama is a wonderful communicator, and a vibrant person, but most of what he says that researchers really pick up on are elements of practical spirituality and mystical philosophy no different than what is found in the classical Cistercian, Carmelite, and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The cultural baggage of Christianity seems to weigh down those truths, and certain classes of people will only listen to a different source........whom they idolize to the point of editing. There is an article I read years ago online that I wished I would have saved to my hard-drive which alleged that the Dalai Lama has written chapters on sexual ethics for some of his books, but that Western publishers refuse to print in final editions. Buddhism and some of the other Eastern systems are far more prudish and "repressive" than Christianity.

With Pope Benedict in such trouble in the news in recent weeks, it makes me even more curious regarding the international double standard that mainstream culture seems to weave around these two figures.

Crazy Irish Friday....

Life responsibilities had me busy over the weekend, so I missed my usual day. But, this being the week of St. Patrick's day, all is well by the Irish calendar.

I deeply regret not having read Chesterton's Irish Impressions as of this date. I have seen some very good quotes pulled from it over a number of subject areas.

As I contemplate this upcoming holy bacchanal of a Saint's day Ive had a couple ideas really stick in my mind. One is the glaring paradox of the Irish Church having such a tradition of deep mysticism, yet at the same time a reputation for raucous brawling. I do not have the book available, but I remember Bishop Fulton Sheen doing a show on the Irish.

The second thing Ive noticed as I browse the internet and bookstores is just how much of a subculture there is in the area of celtic mysticism within New Age circles. Most of this is historically weak and philosophically weaker, but I will grant those adherents the benefit of having a sense of Zeitgeist. The age of our immigrant grandparents is over, but I do believe that we can capture the essence of their spirituality and the wisdom of their saints in a way deeper than they themselves carried by ethic convention alone.

Weekend Thoughts

Throughout the world economic crisis of 1929, I find few instances where Chesterton directly spoke of the crisis itself. His works always seem to stress universals over particulars. I believe that this is a great deal of the reason why he is one of few writers from that time period still read today.

I am trying very hard to stay in tune with this example. I will teeter on the edge now and say that the last couple months have really taught me about democracy and freedom, as Chesterton would describe them.

I think we have finally burst a certain bubble of taboo. Everyone, even those with secure jobs, are uneasy. The "we are doing just fine" social cliche' has for the most part been discarded. Despite the fears and unknown qualities of the future, and as a veteran, I guarantee my paranoia is order of magnitude beyond most normal folks, there is a sense of freedom and liberty. I think we are learning and seeing democracy of the common man in a way our generations have never experienced. I think spirituality and real Christianity make so much more SENSE now that we have seen the utter emptiness of mammon. Indeed, it is only the Church which relieves us from the dreadful slavery to being a child of our age.

Cler[cummings]ihew

e (cummings) e
tYpog(plays)raphy
(poet)surpri(ic)sinG imagery,paren
theses—(games)w or d sb ro k en

Kyro Cannot Stay Off Philosophers...

These last few weeks I have been thinking about thoughts, thinkers, philosophy, and Chesterton. A couple weeks ago I mentioned St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor. His "angelic" purity and freedom from passions gave him a mind of such clarity that I honestly believe he may have few peers in any field from any time or any culture. Thomas' dispassion colors his writing.

Taking this point, that personality paints ideas, I consider Plato. It is interesting to note that Plato , in his youth, was a Pankrationist. Ancient Pankration for all intents and purposes is the equivalent of contemporary MMA. Plato was a man who knew physical ruggedness. He understood the pressure of carrying an opponent's weight and scambling for limbs and countering wrenching maneuvers. If we really grasp this life experience of Plato, his philosophy takes a very striking direction(did I say "striking?" hehe). Platonic philosophy is a philosophy of mind and "forms." The classical criticism of Plato being ungrounded in the physical is diminished when we consider the whole Plato. His communication and expression is ethereal, but his inner experience of life was far far more gutteral and Earthy.

One of Chesterton's subjects, St. Francis of Assisi, embodies the above point. "Preach always, use words when necessary." -- This is a philosophy of a whole person. Personality paints idea. St. Francis wrote discourses on humility and simplicity by the spirit he carried performing the most mundane tasks.

Turning this view to Chesterton, I think it bears to remember that he had what would now be called developmental issues and a later breakdown. This inner turmoil led him to understand sanity and insanity, beauty and ugliness, normalcy and aberrations. I do not know enough of the details of his formative experiences, but those inner demons which he faced led him to a spectacular universal insight and a wisdom beyond any of the men of his time.

Taking this view of philosophy and ideas as the full reflection of a total person I find Christ to be an utter enigma. I have been thinking lately that the most haunting words of the New Testament are, "And who do you say that I am?" from Matthew 16. The Passion of the Christ takes on powerful meaning considering the totality of Jesus' words and actions. I think this is where many of us fail in apologetics. We know so many answers, and I admit I become frustrated over some of the ridiculous misunderstandings people have regarding Christianity and Catholicism. To merely be able to "define and defend" is insufficient. We can see from above that even secular philosophy cannot be adequately draught out in that manner.

Very humbling stuff.

The Man Who was Friday...

..Always makes it in during the weekend.

Oddly enough, still thinking about this same theme of Stoics, Philosophy in general, and GKC. As Ive been tossing around these ideas for the last couple weeks, its occured to me that I never have really given GKC his full due in this area.

In the Army, I was a 37F PSYOP NCO by MOS, and I spent my time in those information warfare circles. From this perspective, Chesterton is a true genius. He breaks open debates, makes thousand year old arguments seem alive and vital, and never allows his detractors to label him.

As Ive thought deeper, it amazes me how little we discuss Chesterton's inner life, and his spirituality. For all of his curmudgeonliness, (hehe, is that a word?) we know more about Belloc as a man of prayer, at least as a superficial image.

Some of the things that Chesterton says are not the products of a debater or a rhetoritician. Much of what he says have the flavor of the fruits of contemplation.

To quickly paraphrase those at the top of my head:
"Their pity is untruthful, and thier truth is pitiless" --regarding liberals vs. conservatives
"Hope is the virtue balanced between the sins of despair and presumption" --massacred paraphrase, but still sublime
"The Catholic Church is the only thing capable of saving a man from slavery to his age"

There is so much more out there than this, but I think the greater point to ponder is that these are not comebacks, or even apologetics, but an outer revelation of an inner experience.

Coming Soon: new edition of "The Coloured Lands"

This is very good news! A new edition of The Coloured Lands will be released this March by Dover Publications. The book by G.K. Chesterton was originally published posthumously in 1938, and I think it has been out of print since that time. So if you already have one, as I do, you probably keep it in that special bookcase that the younger members of your household are not allowed browse without permission; this in hope of keeping babies from tearing pages, and to keep chocolate milk from spoiling it. But these Fairy Stories, Comic Verse and Fantastic Pictures are a fun introduction to GKC for young readers. My 11 year old enjoyed reading his first Chesterton stories that Nancy C. Brown edited and republished two winters ago, The Father Brown Reader: Stories from Chesterton. Since then he's searched for more Chesterton on his level and poked through a bit of Collected Works Vol 14: Short Stories, Fairy Tales and Mystery Stories. I think he'll be getting this new edition of The Coloured Lands for his 12th birthday.

Belloc Program in March

I just got notice of this, thought I'd pass it on.

Old Thunder: An Afternoon with Hilaire Belloc
Sunday, March 15th at 1 p.m.

St. Sebastian's Church
Zwisler Hall
476 Mull Avenue
Akron, OH

St. Sebastian's Church, Akron, will be hosting a performance of "Old Thunder: An afternoon with Hilaire Belloc", a one-man show featuring Kevin O'Brien, founder of Theater of the Word, on Sunday, March 15th at 1 p.m. in Zwisler Hall. The program is free and open to the public; a free-will offering will be taken.

Come and meet Catholic historian and poet Hilaire Belloc, who lived in England from 1870-1953. "Old Thunder" provides a stirring presentation, which includes Belloc's prophetic take on modern society and culture.

Father Joseph Fessio called "Old Thunder" "fantastic and unforgettable." Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society, says, "Everyone in America needs to see this show."

"Old Thunder: an Afternoon with Hilaire Belloc" is produced by Theater of the Word, a new company performing Christan drama throughout the United States. It is suitable for teen and adults and is approximately one hour long.
There will be books and other items available for sale after the program.