Nathaniel Peters

William Cornysh served as a court composer to Henry VIII. While he wrote liturgical works, he also set the poem “Woefully Arrayed” to music for domestic use and private devotion. The music and words are well worth pondering as the Passion approaches. This recording comes from the . . . . Continue Reading »

“Hate the sin, love the sinner.” Christians use the phrase so often because it captures so well one of the foundational principles of our faith. Usually we think it means loving those whose actions we think are wrong, but not in gravest sense: He is sleeping around, she says nasty . . . . Continue Reading »

Many fans of the TV series  Downton Abbey  may have wondered about the source of the turns and twists of plot, the historical inaccuracy and stunning anachronisms, the clashing strains of progressivism and traditionalism all present in the show. Just as with the . . . . Continue Reading »

In perhaps the most unexpected commentary on Benedict XVI’s legacy, the U.K.’s liberal Guardian has a fashion column on the significance of Benedict’s sartorial and liturgical choices. And they get it exactly right : The root of his need to rediscover some of the more traditional, . . . . Continue Reading »

In the  Wall Street Journal , Arthur Brooks calls on conservatives to care about the poor, and to make the public argument that what they believe and work for is good for the poor : The answer is to make improving the lives of vulnerable people the primary focus of authentically conservative . . . . Continue Reading »

Sally Thomas recently noted this piece from Purcell’s funeral music for Queen Mary II. It sets an appropriately penitential air for the coming weeks. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears unto our pray’rs; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most . . . . Continue Reading »

One question that has always surrounded Benedict’s tenure as pope has been that of the sex-abuse scandals. In their assessment of his papacy, even otherwise friendly commentators, such as Ross Douthat, have said that he did not do enough to combat abuse, punish wrong-doers, and console . . . . Continue Reading »

Recently a friend introduced me to the Orlando di Lasso motet “Tristis Est Anima Mea,” a beautiful piece that captures in words and music the quiet, expectant sorrow of Lent and the coming sacrifice in which Christ is handed over to sinners for the salvation of sinners. The words are . . . . Continue Reading »

Here is a superb piece from one of the greatest theologians of the world on the work of another. John Milbank writes an extensive essay on Pope Benedict’s vision of love and politics. I would argue that he and (to a lesser extent) Benedict are more negative than they should be about . . . . Continue Reading »

Garry Wills—-whose latest book raises a call against the priesthood—-claims that he can remain a Catholic while espousing the common doctrines of low-church Protestantism, without the theologically nuanced arguments that most low-church Protestants make. And he throws out the book of . . . . Continue Reading »