Last week, President Obama, delivering a commencement speech, advised the graduates not to listen to those voices that say that “government” is the source of all our problems. That would mean, he said, “that our great experiment in self-government had failed,” a conclusion to be avoided at all costs. Better to lay out sixteen trillion dollars in unpaid bills, than reach that terrible conclusion. I once played the comic villain Parolles for a college production of All’s Well that Ends Well, and one line rings in my memory still. When Parolles, a worthless, vain, swaggering coward, is asked what service he performs for the callow Lord Bertram, his young master, he replies, “I am his corrupter of words.” It isn’t that Parolles teaches Bertram how to lie. The plain liar depends upon the integrity of words; when he says, “I did not know of any attempt to cover up the break-in at the Watergate Hotel,” he expects you to understand something clear and definite. The words mean what they mean. But to corrupt words is, literally, to rot them from within. Think of the worthlessness of a hunk of rotten maple wood. You can crumble it in your fists. Words that are corrupted are thus worse than lies
As you might guess, this turns out badly.
In this post I am trying to continue our celebration of the lost “Octave” of Pentecost. Today I want to consider three gifts of the Holy Spirit.
At Pentecost vigil, pope shares personal stories of his faith from CNS latest top stories … Please read the complete post here: At Pentecost vigil, pope shares personal stories of his faith at the CNS latest top stories website.
Chaldean patriarch warns surge in Iraqi violence will divide country from CNS latest top stories … See the full post here: Chaldean patriarch warns surge in Iraqi violence will divide country at the CNS latest top stories website.
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Today, let us take a few minutes of our time to thank God for the blessing of sending His son into the world and for His Resurrection, “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Let us also pray for the protection of our souls from the storms we encounter in life, both those
There are several Feasts of the Church wherein a “sequence” hymn may be sung.
Editor’s Note: We’re about one-third of the way to where we need to be in our fifth-anniversary fund drive this month. Many of you have been taking advantage of the offer of a free copy of the anthology of TCT columns for all donations of $100 or more.
It is one of the quirks of the post-conciliar liturgy, that the Octave of Pentecost was dropped. Generally the post-concilar age has tried to emphasize the Gifts and works of the Holy Spirit. But, paradoxically the octave of Pentecost was dropped.
Editor’s Note: We’re about one-third of the way to where we need to be in our fifth-anniversary fund drive this month.
What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost.
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