The Life of Virtue

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  This celebration commemorates the day when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was dedicated in the Temple at Jerusalem according to the Law of Moses.  On the fortieth day after birth, each first-born Jewish male was presented for service to the Lord.  It makes sense that Jesus was presented and consecrated in this way since He was both the first-born of Mary and the Eternal Son of God.  This moment  enables the Temple to become Jesus' natural and comfortable habitat, and it  marks the first step in allowing the Him to increase "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Rembrandt, Simeon's Song of Praise (1631) Although we are not still bound by the Law of Moses, it is good and right for Christian parents to follow the same process for our children and our families.  If parents desire that the place of worship, the Church, becomes a natural and...

Merriam-Webster defines "renaissance man" as one who has interest and expertise in many areas.  The Urban Dictionary mentions that a person described by this term is "talented in all spheres of human endeavor."  A general (and incomplete) litany of such spheres would include language, philosophy, religion, science, sport, art, and, perhaps, food.  The person who attains noteworthy accomplishment in most or all of these realms, and who could pass on knowledge and wisdom to others, is considered to have attained the ideal. The historical figure who seems to have attained this ideal most notably (at least in the modern age) is Leonardo da Vinci.  Da Vinci receives credit as a painter, a botanist, an urban planner, a man of high intellect, and a designer of flying machines.  If all of this is attributable to him in fact, then it is right to place him in the limited company of true renaissance men.  Of course, there are also fictional expressions of this id...

Those of you who read my blog may be aware of the "controversial" news headline about the pope marrying twenty couples this past Sunday, some of whom were "living in sin."  And so, the barrage of distortions and misinformation by the secular media continues.  Because of this headline, I received the following email. I have four children two in college recently, one in high school, and my youngest at [a local Catholic school] .  You'll find as your children grow up, they have some amazing questions/discussions, especially with social media.  I think we did a good job, our college children attend Mass, follow the Pope on twitter, and are great kids.  We are truly blessed.  What I find difficult is when the Pope is in the news purportedly supporting gay marriage, or as in yesterday's headlines marrying couples "living in sin."  I spent a long while trying to look into yesterday's news and found in the United Kingdom's news, that one couple...