The North is full of tangled things and texts and aching eyes,
And dead is all the innocence of anger and surprise,
And Christian killeth Christian in a narrow dusty room,
And Christian dreadeth Christ that hath a newer face of doom,
And Christian hateth Mary that God kissed in Galilee
-From G.K. Chesterton's poem, "Lepanto"

Mark Shea arguably saved the most important book of his Marian trilogy for the end. In his first two volumes of Mary, Mother of the Son, Mr Mark Shea has made the case that Catholic piety and teaching towards Mary come not from pagan sources, but rather from sacred Tradition, and that the particular Marian Dogmas are not just about Mary, but about Christ, His Church, and the destiny of mankind. Now, in the conclusion to his apologetics trilogy, he gives us "Miracles, Devotion, and Motherhood." Whereas the previous two volumes were concerned with defending the Catholic teachings and piety surrounding our Lady, the third volume is more dedicated to the practice and meaning of those devotions in the life of the Church.

We stare into the abyss. As people of faith, this is our response to the contemporary plight of modern man, a man characterized by a perpetual wandering through a wasteland. Yet our faith gives us a certain strength—we have the freedom to long, the freedom to thirst—in short, the freedom to suffer meaningfully—in view of the deep chasm of human pain and confusion brought on by sin.

At this point, let us recall our dominant metaphor: The contemporary soul wanders in a perpetual wasteland. As people of faith, as stated in our introduction, we cannot accept this metaphor at face-value and define as our lot a seemingly-endless wandering through the wasteland until admission to eternal life.

Note: To participate in the "study" pillar of Dominican life, the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (North Austin/Round Rock) chapter of Lay Dominicans in the Southern (US) Province is currently reading The Dominican Tradition: Spirituality in History one chapter at a time, with one member presenting a reflection of the chapter during the meeting. This last meeting was my turn to present, and the chapter was on Saint Thomas Aquinas. Here then is my reflection.

Saint Thomas Aquinas was quite possibly the greatest thinker who ever lived. There are few philosophers either inside of Christianity or outside of it who can claim to rival the breadth or depth of his intellect. He came into the world during one of the more perilous and more tumultuous times of the Church--though I supposed that it could be argued that there have been few if any ages which were not perilous, tumultuous, or in general fraught with challenges to the Faith.

The recent news that Mr Christopher Hitchens is suffering from cancer, and the response of good Catholics to this news, has set me thinking about Christ's admonishment to love even our enemies. This teaching by Christ is recorded by both Saints Matthew and Luke. The Gospel according to Saint Matthew has this passage (Mt 5:43-48):

You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you: That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.

Note: To participate in the "study" pillar of Dominican life, the St Martin de Pores chapter (Austin) of Lay Dominicans in the Southern (US) Province is currently reading Fr George Montague's Holy Spirit, Make your Home in Me one chapter at a time, with one member presenting a reflection of the chapter during the meeting. This last meeting was my turn to present, and the chapter was titled Abba. Here then is my reflection.

We are studying a book about the Holy Spirit, yet this reflection is about Abba, the Father. The two are distinct Persons of the Trinity, so the first questions which I asked myself before beginning this meditation is this: why, in a book about the Holy Spirit, are we reading a chapter by the title of Abba? Seeing that the next chapter is given the title Jesus, my curiosity was piqued further.

I was earlier perusing the Adoro Te Devote blog and found this piece about the relationship between women and the Church.

"I continue to come across blog posts, online comments, and real-life discussions delving into the 'role of women' and condemning the position of the Catholic Church, claiming that the Church is 'oppressive' and even 'treats women as sex objects.'