In Praise of the Coffee House
Though fall is already giving way to the crisp air of winter here in Rome, the autumn leaves are only now in full force. Their orange and golden glow is set nicely against the bluish haze, which seems to hover perpetually over the Tiber. I imagine this haze is some strange mixture of fog, cigarette smoke, and exhaust fumes from the heavy traffic. In other words, the autumnal atmosphere in which I live is nearly as melancholic as I am.
Though fall is already giving way to the crisp air of winter here in Rome, the autumn leaves are only…
Outsourcing Ourselves into Oblivion
As people often do when crossing the street, I generally wave to the drivers who have stopped their cars to let me cross. Recently, I was informed that on occasion, I had been waving to driverless cars. This is my first time back in Texas since self-driving vehicles were introduced here. When I first read about the impending advent of driverless cars over a decade ago, I expected their presence to carry with it some perpetual wow factor—to provide us with a sense that the world was becoming more technologically utopian. The idea was novel, and while it would rely…
Therefore, let us Keep the Feast!
Seeing as I have written several short essays on the topic of fasting, both during Advent and Lent, I think I ought to devote some time to a reflection on the topic of feasting before the season of Easter concludes entirely. Feasting is one of the great joys of being Catholic: celebrating the festival days of patron saints, our Lady, and of God himself by enjoying rich food, good drink, and dear company, so as to worthily celebrate those realities which most fundamentally shape our lives. Feasting is not just an antiquated custom or fun ideal, but a biblical mandate!…
I Thirst
After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” John 19:28
In his last words, Christ makes a number of very bold, very consequential declarations. To the good thief, “today, you will be with me in Paradise.” To John, “behold your mother,” and to Mary, “behold your son.” To the Father, on behalf of all of us, “forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
But unlike the overtly eschatological and ecclesiological sayings which precede it, this saying of our Lord is overwhelmingly and uniquely human… “I thirst.”
A Season for Silence
(A Hiatus from Chiasmus, to which I will return) There is something fitting about silence in Advent. Yes, silence. Quiet. Stillness. Advent is a season of waiting, of looking forward—with eager yet restrained anticipation—to the twenty-fifth night of December, when, the whole world being at peace, Christ was born. But Advent is often anything but a silent season, and from the confines of our homes to society at large, the world seems anything but at peace. We are accosted by advertisements and Christmas songs, and we are consumed by baking and the making of plans. Life in academia teems with…
Chiasmus in the Gospel of St. John
Near the beginning of my time at Baylor, my college roommate Shaler took a class on the Gospel according to St. John. I remember one night when he returned to our dorm with the enthralling news that this particular Gospel had a chiastic narrative structure. Like most people, I imagine, I had absolutely no idea what that was.
Some Thoughts on Home
In the past few weeks, I have had to say goodbye to three places I call “home.” Now, that I have three places I can call by this name is something for which I am very grateful. When I was at Holy Trinity in Dallas, I would often make trips to my home parish in Waco, only to drive back home to the seminary that same evening. And on breaks, I traveled back to Seattle to spend time with my family at home. My frequent travels home(s?), particularly in this time of transition, have raised the question, what is home?
If You Give a Mouse a Glimpse of Eternity
People love scrolling. If you look around, wherever you might find yourself—in a restaurant, at a park, or on a plane—you will see people scrolling… and scrolling… and scrolling on their phones. And it is pointless in a very real way. But far from saying this habit of scrolling is unintelligible, or that it is merely the result of boredom, I think it exposes and speaks to something deeper in human nature: that the heart of man yearns for the eternal.
Friendship and Vocation
Recently, I have been reflecting on friendship in the context of common and complementary secondary vocations. Christian friendship is ultimately ordered toward our primary vocation, which is holiness, but our friendships shape and are shaped by our secondary vocations. So what role does vocation play in our friendships?
St. Simeon, the Bible, and the Art of Watchfulness
If the story of St. Simeon can tell us anything, it is that the scholarly work of Bible translation is all but boring.
A Sacrifice of Joy
In Advent, we sing the Alleluia, the season is filled with joyful anticipation, and the prayers are filled with themes of comfort and deliverance and joy. And all the while, we don’t sing the Gloria, our priests wear violet, and we make small acts of penance to help prepare our hearts for Christmas. This quasi-penitential season leaves us with an interesting question: what is the role of joy in the midst of the “already but not yet?”
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Ryan P. Both 