I read Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities” as part of a requirement in an English course I took in high school. I recall liking the novel very much. Though I do not recall many details of the plot, I do recall that reading the book was an assignment I enjoyed.
Faith & Thought
Motivating Contemporary College Students to Read
I cannot guess how many hours I have delayed before writing this week’s column. Actually it has been not only a matter of hours but a matter of days. Three or four times I sat down to start the column but gave up rather quickly.
A ‘Bully Pulpit,’ a Channel to Influence How People Think
In last week’s column I tried to explain what I mean by my belief that every person is magnetized by God. The belief has become more important to me in recent years.
Our Grasping of the Truth And Our Love of Goodness
I often have the impression that all the news about the contemporary world is bad. Of course this is not true, and I find that in trying to offset the bad news it is helpful for me to remind myself of some basic truths about the human person that I have learned from philosophy.
God’s Grace Leads Us to Say ‘Yes’ to His Invitation
I have come to believe that every person has what I call a philosophy of life. By that I mean every person has some view of what being a human person means. For some this philosophy is relatively clear even though they may agree that the meaning involves some mysteries.
A Great Story: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ on Stage and Screen
Recently I did something that I have not done in years. One evening, in almost one sitting, I read a truly great play, Robert Bolt’s play about St. Thomas More, “A Man for All Seasons.”
The Eucharist and the Nature of Our Conscience
There is a section in Bernard Cooke’s “Sacraments & Sacramentality” (Mystic, Ct. Revised Edition, Twenty-Third Publications, 1994, pp. 241, $14.95) in which he discusses the nature of conscience and how celebration of the Eucharist can shape and form our conscience.
The Liturgical Act And the Experience
I suppose that all words have a history. In dialoguing with students in philosophy classes at St. John’s University I have found that words such as “subjective,” “objective,” “experience,” “faith,” and some others, I almost always have to either ask the students what they mean by those terms or explain what I mean when I use those terms.
The Eucharist Has Always Been a Storytelling Event
Who can guess why some ideas that we previously did not pay much attention to begin to take a predominant place in our consciousness?
Our Relationships Have Global, Cosmic Implications
Anyone who has read the recent columns I have written knows that I am deeply interested in the view of grace presented by Bernard Cooke in his book “Sacraments & Sacramentality” (Mystic, Conn., Twenty-Third Publications, revised edition, 241, pp. $14.95). I find Cooke’s insights very exciting and provocative.