Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 264

Nietzsche meets Therese

G.K.Chesterton observes that every age is saved by a saint most contrary to the spirit of the age. This clash–this ability by Divine Providence to provide a saint that stands everything on it’s head is exemplified by a comparison between Frederick Nietzsche and Therese of Lisieux. They were contemporaries. Nietzsche was born in 1844 and [...]

Faith Works 3

Here’s a link to the third edition of my free, weekly newsletter on the practical practice of the Catholic faith: There are notes on St Therese, an article on forgiveness and one on listening to God with lectio divina.

St Benedict and St Therese

an excerpt from my book St Benedict and St Therese: The Little Rule and the Little Way. “To study two saints together is to perceive three things: their unique personalities, their similarity to one another and the way their lives and teachings complement each other. When Saint Benedict and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux are studied [...]

Mont St Michel

Skellig Michael, off the West coast of Ireland; St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall, UK; Sacra St Michele, the Italian Alps, Monte Gargano, Southeast Italy. These are all in a straight line geographically and if you extend the line eastward it goes through Athens and ends up at Jerusalem–which the medievals considered the center of the world. [...]

for St Michael and All Angels

Why not kill Bill?

Before anyone thinks I am advocating murder, abortion, infanticide or genocide, I’m asking a basic philosophical question. Kill Bill? Why not kill another human being? First we have to define our terms: by “kill” we mean to intentionally end another person’s life. For the purposes of discussion I will exclude the killing that goes on [...]

Kill Bill?

Before anyone thinks I am advocating murder, abortion, infanticide or genocide, I’m asking a basic philosophical question. Kill Bill? Why not kill another human being? First we have to define our terms: by “kill” we mean to intentionally end another person’s life. For the purposes of discussion I will exclude the killing that goes on [...]

Prayer

I was trying to compose a post about prayer. I wanted to say that prayer is somehow learning to listen to the other side. It’s developing a gift that most of mankind has lost. It’s recovering a capability to understand and sympathize with a different pattern that runs through all things. It is like a [...]

The Problems with Pragmatism

Pragmatism is practical, but pragmatism also has problems. What is pragmatism? It might be defined as the quality of being practical–of valuing usefulness and workability. A pragmatic person is interested in the practical solution of problems. They want a solution that is efficient, effective and economical. They want to get the job done in a [...]

Infanticide in Germany

A woman in Germany has been found guilty of killing five of her newborn babies because their existence would have endangered their lifestyle and standard of living. The news is here. So what’s new? Around the world millions of children are killed for the same reasons. It’s just that they are killed before they are [...]