Five Quick Takes

Last updated on: May 15, 2021 at 12:49 pm by Gabriel Blanchard

Five Quick Takes 2021-05-15T12:49:23-04:00 Gabriel Blanchard

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I.

Thanks to a schedule misunderstanding, I missed my parish’s Ascension liturgy on Thursday, for what I think is the third year running. One year, which I think was 2019 but may have been earlier, was due to an ill-timed nap; last year was of course 2020. It’s one of my favorite feasts, too. On the other hand, there’s a Novus Ordo parish not far from me that I’ve been thinking of dropping in on—my parish’s architecture is okay, but this one’s is heartbreaking—so I suppose I can make that my Sunday.

II.

As a pro-lifer I’m not upset about the idea of President Biden, Nancy Pelosi, et al. being refused Communion. It’s difficult for me to see why that hasn’t been happening for at least thirty years by now: it was, very rightly, done over segregation. I am, however, disgusted by the blatant partisanship at work here. Former President Trump was of course nominally Protestant, so there could hardly be any question of disciplining him; but people like Mike Pompeo and Bill Barr could and should have been thus publicly reprimanded for their outrageous insolence to the Holy See, among other things. And even if disciplining Trump was impossible, sucking up to him wasn’t necessary.

III.

Every year or two I reread Dorothy Sayers’ novel Gaudy Night. I’m not even a mystery buff—it’s simply one of the best novels ever written. The action is set at an Oxford women’s college in the 1930s, and despite the conflicts it involves, it opens a window onto a world that is incredibly peaceful, with a quality like a clear spring day after a rain. The characters are winsome, the writing is witty, and the themes are deeply nourishing; I’ve never found a more intelligent discussion of discernment and vocation, not in books that are explicitly about them.

IV.

If like me you are on Twitter, well, I can’t honestly say that’s a good thing. But, to ameliorate it, I strongly recommend following @possumeveryhour. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, and it’s delightful. You may think possums are nasty creatures; personally I think they’re a perfect example of uglycute, on top of which they eat ticks and most are immune to rabies.

V.

I started to fall in love with Catholicism on a conscious level when I was about fourteen, and my class read The Song of Roland and Dante’s Inferno (incidentally, in Sayers’ translations). The first book we read after those was The Name of the Rose, a postmodern novel set in the fourteenth century, in the midst of debates over the practice of poverty by various branches of the Franciscan Order. I have a theory that the Church today is badly in need of poverty. I think culture war priorities really have almost nothing to do with what is good for society, and everything to do with what makes most Christians feel comfortable. Poverty means powerlessness, poverty means exclusion. Those things align with Christ’s example far better than anything the Moral Majority ever did.

Previous Post

May 6, 2021

Review: The Magnus Archives

Next Post

May 26, 2021 The Revolt of Fr. Altman

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abuse antifascism art bad Catholic celibacy chastity Church crucifixion culture war eros forgiveness gay gender homophobia ikons language liturgy peace poems politics Pope Francis prayer pro-life race recommendations reform repentance review sacraments saints satire scandal schism scripture sex suffering theology Uncategorized violence

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Romans teaches that creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE