The Narthex
Doable Deeds
Thinking philosophically reaches to wisdom
By James Hanink | February 11th 2019 5:59 PMDysfunction is the order of day, and at every level. Each of us, I’ll wager, wants to tell someone “get your act together.” Plenty of people think that I need to hear the same message. And someone, no doubt, thinks that you, gentle reader, need to as well. Of course,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhat's Your Angle?
'Economism' and 'politicism' are merely intellectual viewpoints
By James Hanink | February 4th 2019 4:09 PMAsk me “what’s your angle?” around 7 am. If I can summon the strength, I’ll say that in five minutes or so, if I’m upright, I’ll be at a 90 degree angle from the floor. It might take a few tries, though. Graceful, I'm not. Intellectual angles matter even more…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA-Marching We Will Go!
The pro-life struggle includes moments of celebration
By James Hanink | January 28th 2019 5:51 PMThis time I kept my sign. Heck, I could have been the model for it. On one side there’s a silhouette of a “senior” wearing what looks like my cap. His cane is like one we keep handy at home. On the other side, there’s a Gospel truth: Toda Vida…
READ FULL BLOG POSTTalking to Young(er) People
Inter-generational discussions inspire some observations
By James Hanink | January 21st 2019 9:15 PMA few preliminaries. I myself, personally, am not that old. Now my friend, and NOR stalwart, Jim Schall, SJ, is really old. He's 91 and counting. Pero como anciano sereno, no viejo nervioso. Still, a week ago on my birthday my little sister sent me a “chipper” card that read: “May your…
READ FULL BLOG POSTMusings on a Coffee Cup
A journey worth taking should take us somewhere worth going
By James Hanink | January 14th 2019 5:01 PMMy daughter’s coffee cup is big and brightly colored, with a charming picture of a girl on a bicycle holding a flower bouquet. What’s the message on the cup? It’s the heartening sentiment that “Life is a journey!” Hold on, now. Is there a question on the tip of your tongue?…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGiving Glory to God
Can we say whatever we want about God, as long as it’s positive?
By James Hanink | January 8th 2019 4:18 PM"The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive!" So read an outsize banner hanging in the gymnasium at an Institution of Higher Earnings. Once upon a time I taught there. From the start, the banner’s placement gave me pause. Is the idea that the fitter the student the greater is…
READ FULL BLOG POSTBlessings All Around
God blesses us most of all through the Incarnation of His Son
By James Hanink | January 2nd 2019 3:47 PMThere’s a nasty cold making the rounds. Flu season has officially started. Was that you sneezing? Bless you! Maybe I’ll add gesundheit! Or maybe not, since gesundheit only means “good health,” and once upon a time it signaled a toast. But a blessing is decidedly different, isn’t it? Let’s see…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA New Broom Sweeps Clean
Out with political farce, bias, and bigotry?
By James Hanink | December 27th 2018 5:08 PM2018 will be hard to forget. TV specials remind us of “revolting developments” that we’d rather forget. Never mind! Most of us are full of resolve, and other things as well. Por ejemplo, frijoles. To send the old year on its way, I bought a new broom. Maybe it will…
READ FULL BLOG POSTHigh Hopes, High Stakes
A teen group called reLOVE helps at-risk teen mothers
By James Hanink | December 18th 2018 3:43 PMAlways and everywhere we have high hopes, and they reflect the Birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! In our time and place we have particular hopes because of special people -- ordinary people doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. Last week I met one of them, thanks to…
READ FULL BLOG POSTTwo Cheers for Democracy
Politics needs philosophy
By James Hanink | December 12th 2018 7:01 PMLast week a young activist for whom I have sympathy wrote that he was hesitant to discuss democracy. Why so? Because he looks at democracy "differently." Democracy, he thinks, is only a tool to secure good leadership. But tools don’t always work. That’s why, he notes, once a party wins…
READ FULL BLOG POSTSinging the Home Town Blues
While citizens are entertained, their home towns are sold and they themselves are sold out
By James Hanink | December 7th 2018 5:11 PMFor some decades now my “home town” has been Guess Where, California. My plan is to keep it that way. These days, though, I’m singing the blues about the place. So why sing the blues, especially during the Christmas season? Because democracy is winding down. Now, it’s not dead yet.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTUnspeakable Crimes
We have neither the eyes to see nor the language with which to condemn
By James Hanink | December 4th 2018 4:22 PMMost crimes are petty. Shop lifting, for instance, spikes over the holiday season. Maybe crimes of passion do so as well. They’re the result of “affairs,” formerly spoken of as adultery and fornication. Some crimes are heinous, and they make the front page. Last week a serial killer confessed to…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGod Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen!
The right amount of merriment makes us pleasant and fit for friendship
By James Hanink | November 26th 2018 7:13 PMCommands often raise my hackles. This one, though, is welcome. I’m for it! But not everyone is. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens reports that “at the first sound of ‘God bless you, merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!’ Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhat Killed the Cat?
Most of us vacillate between healthy and unhealthy curiosity
By James Hanink | November 19th 2018 3:59 PMWhat Killed the Cat? Don’t blame the bloke who let the dogs out. Cats can run faster and climb higher. There’s another suspect. “Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care will kill a cat, up-tails all, and a pox on the hangman.” So wrote Ben Jonson in his 1598 play Every Man…
READ FULL BLOG POSTLocating God: a Logical Point
God isn’t a species within some genus
By James Hanink | November 15th 2018 4:32 PMRemember the drill? Which of these things does not belong? Example #1 (apple, banana, carrot). Easy! A carrot isn’t a fruit, so it doesn’t belong. Example # 2 (cat, dog, butterfly). Well, a butterfly isn’t a mammal, so it doesn’t belong. The logical point in each example is that the…
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