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Lit Crit—Survival of the Fit

From First Thoughts

Literary criticism may be near extinction, to judge from the comments of some scholars in the field, not to mention the dregs of refuse called “papers,” collected every year at such major conferences as Kalamazoo or MLA. We’re desperate,” says Jonathon Gottschall , . . . . Continue Reading »

Preaching Bishops

From First Thoughts

I’ve been doing some etymological research. Bishop , you might know, is a modernized version of the Old English bisceop , derived from the Latin episcopus , which comes from the Greek episkopos . And epi-skopos means “one who watches over.” Not surprisingly, this wasn’t a . . . . Continue Reading »

Tony Snow, R.I.P.

From First Thoughts

Some twins have to flip a coin—who gets mom and who gets dad for the graduation ceremony. Laura and I were blessed. When we both graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. last year, the whole family was together, sitting in front of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception . . . . Continue Reading »

The Human Experience

From Web Exclusives

“If he wakes me up today, God has something he wants me to do.” “I’m your sister, you’re my brother.” “We are all the same”that’s why we need to love everybody.” Truisms get their name because they are, well, true. But not the sort of truth that is . . . . Continue Reading »

Writing Icons

From First Thoughts

“When I get up in the night . . . I sing and I paint. Sometimes I go out to look at the stars and the moon. So I sing. I come back here maybe at 2:00 during the night. Then I start painting . . . . It is a prayer for me to paint.” —Sr. Magnificat For a delightful glimpse into the . . . . Continue Reading »

Chant: Music for Paradise

From First Thoughts

“Deep within everyone’s heart, whether he knows it or not, is a yearning for supreme happiness and thus, ultimately, for God. Such a primordial human longing for completion is fulfilled by a monastery where the community gathers several times a day for the praise of God.” So said . . . . Continue Reading »

Thomas More, the Heart of the Matter

From First Thoughts

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, sixteenth-century English martyrs. I was reminded of this powerful passage from Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons , the basis of the acclaimed film . Bolt, I think it interesting to add, was neither a Catholic nor . . . . Continue Reading »

Five Loaves and Two Fish

From First Thoughts

Thirteen years in prison, nine years in solitary confinement. Five loaves and two fish. “Stay with us,” prayed the disciples on the road to Emmaus. So he took bread, blessed it, and gave it to them to eat. Yesterday, at the 49th International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City, the . . . . Continue Reading »

Apples and Pairs (for fun)

From First Thoughts

The limerick is—or ought to be—the poetic genre ideally suited to the blogosphere: Short and pithy, quotable and memorable, feisty and funny and fine. And sometimes, just sometimes, it actually reveals a kernel of wisdom through the show of wit. Here are two eminent examples, from the . . . . Continue Reading »