Catholicism

“The Little Ones” ~ The Imaginative Conservative

The kingdom of heaven would not appear before the eyes of men with a crash of thunder and a blaze of lightning. It would begin, in itself and in each man’s heart, humbly, almost insignificantly, as small as the mustard seed. Only Son, by Walter Farrell, O.P. (226 pages, Cluny Media) “And His mother and […]

Wrath and Mercy ~ The Imaginative Conservative

There’s something personal and unforgettable in the anger of someone who passionately protects the good. Good wrath is profoundly instructive. We hope in God’s mercy, yet we are mindful of His justice, which is not presented to us as dispassionate correction. My wife and I had a mentor, a wise man and forceful leader, who […]

Easter Wings ~ The Imaginative Conservative

George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” is a witty, surprising, and smart poem, which teaches a profound theological truth: Created with perfect blessings, it is man’s foolishness and fall that is to blame for his ending up poor and thin. I was college student afflicted with a serious case of Anglophilia when I discovered George Herbert and […]

Awake, O Sleeper! ~ The Imaginative Conservative

Blinding light surrounds me. My eyes, grown old from endlessly straining in vain for light, begin to adjust. As they open, I see a man bearing a staff. “AWAKE O SLEEPER! ARISE FROM THE DEAD!” Editor’s Note: The following is based on a precious text of the Triduum, read as the second reading in the […]

The Harrowing of Hell ~ The Imaginative Conservative

Christ descended into hell to deliver His loved ones from their exile. He came to reward those who, from our first father, Adam, to His own foster-father, St. Joseph, had fought the good fight and had finished the race. The second reading from the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday is taken from an ancient homily on Christ’s […]

Come, Let Us Adore ~ The Imaginative Conservative

Most Catholics seem to intuitively grasp that adoration of the cross is not idolatry. But that didn’t stop a smart-aleck high school senior like myself from pressing the point. “We do what!?” I thought. “Isn’t this idolatry!” But there it was “All, after genuflecting to the Cross, depart in silence.” It was the morning of […]

Not Just One Day of the Year ~ The Imaginative Conservative

“Good Friday is not just one day of the year,” Fr. Richard John Neuhaus writes in “Death on a Friday Afternoon. “ “It is a day relived in every day of the world, and of our lives in the world.” There is “no denying that the cross is surrounded by glory,” wrote Fr. Richard John Neuhaus in Death […]

Solemn Intercession of the Gregorian Sacramentary: A Translation

“On the most solemn days, the most ancient and sober rituals tend to be preserved” (Baumstark’s first rule for the organic development of liturgy). This rule finds a vivid exemplar in the solemn intercessions on Good Friday, which preserve the ancient Roman tradition of the petition. The purpose of this essay is to provide a […]

Christless Classical Curricula ~ The Imaginative Conservative

If faith cannot be included within classical charter schools because of secularist State requirements, then what is the purpose of such education? Classical charter schools have surged in number over the past thirty years in response to the decreasing quality of education and the often-disordered learning environments of American public schools. Aided both by this […]