ALAN writes:

Fifty-seven years ago, I sat alone in a high school auditorium during the noon hour and tried to read — not reading required for classes, but books of my own choice. It was hard to do that because elsewhere in that auditorium at that hour were other students who took delight in being loud and boisterous. I was never one of them. I purposely chose a seat on the other side of the auditorium to get as far away from them as I could.

I was not a joiner or a “group person”.  By 1967 I had graduated from loud and boisterous and never regretted it. I found something much better: Silence and solitude in which to think, read, question, weigh and consider in realms of knowledge, history, philosophy, science, and current events.

I did not realize it then, but I had discovered (and preferred) the interior voice at a time when cultural forces like the “mass media” and mass entertainment were doing their best to overwhelm or extinguish the interior voice.

I was not the only such individual in that school, but we added up to a tiny percentage of the school population. In the 1930s-’40s, most of that loud and boisterous crowd would have been working at some productive job.  But in the 1960s they were reveling in a form of prolonged childhood made possible for them by their too-lenient and too-accommodating parents, those in the so-called “greatest generation”.

Most of those in that generation said little and did even less to oppose the conversion of high schools, colleges, and universities into playpens for prolonged adolescence.

Those in the “greatest generation” believed in the 1960s that the future for their children looked bright and promising. I heard them say so at the New York World’s Fair in 1965. (more…)

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 PSALM 111 1. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments. 2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the righteous shall be blessed. 3. Glory and wealth shall be in his house: and his justice remaineth for ever and ever. 4. To the righteous a light is risen up in darkness: he is merciful, and compassionate and just. 5. Acceptable is the man that sheweth mercy and lendeth: he shall order his words with judgment: 6. Because he shall not be moved for ever. 7. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance: he shall not fear the evil hearing. His heart is ready to hope in the Lord: 8. His heart is strengthened, he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies. 9. He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever and ever: his horn shall be exalted in glory. 10. The wicked shall see, and shall be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.  

'GOD is all-powerful and delights in showing himself in that which is weakest; he is infinitely good and glorious in rewarding such as love him. This explains how it was our Jesus gave to Magdalen and her companions the first proofs of his Resurrection, and so promptly consoled them. They were even weaker than the Bethlehem shepherds; they were, therefore, the objects of a higher preference. The Apostles themselves were weaker than the weakest of the earthly powers they were to bring into submission; hence they too were initiated into the mystery of Jesus' triumph. But Magdalen and her companions had loved their Master even to the Cross and in his tomb, whereas the Apostles had abandoned him; they therefore had a better claim than the Apostles to Jesus' generosity, and richly did he satisfy the claim."" --- Dom Prosper Guéranger, Thursday in Easter Week  

"THE suffering of adversity does not degrade you but exalts you. Human tribulation teaches you; it does not destroy you. The more we are afflicted in this world, the greater is our assurance for the next." --- St. Isidore of Seville  

(Source: Thuletide) "DIVERSITY is colossally detrimental to individuals and society alike, in almost very conceivable way: physical and mental health, social cohesion, violence, trust, criminality, etc. The more diverse a society is, the more pronounced and severe these negative effects are, however, even small amounts of racial or ethnic diversity are enough to cause a quantifiable negative impact. Individuals of every race fare worse within racially and ethnically heterogeneous societies, though racial heterogeneity has a greater negative impact than ethnic heterogeneity (when the ethnically heterogeneous society is mono-racial)." 'Diversity' means serfdom: "While the data presented in these studies is undeniably accurate and consistent, almost all of the “solutions” put forward by the authors are, to be frank, utterly ludicrous. There is only one valid solution that will sufficiently solve the problems of “diversity,” and that is no diversity at all. Segregation. A total annulment of “multiculturalism” and a return to the natural, tribalistic societies that are deeply ingrained in human behavior. This solution would be best for people of all races and ethnicities, as no race or ethnicity functions better within a racially heterogeneous society than they do in a racially homogeneous society. "Unfortunately, most people are either too politically compromised or too terrified of potential social and economic repercussions to publicly make this argument (they fear being branded a “Nazi,” threats to their employment and employability, or losing friends and relatives). Additionally, this solution is in direct opposition to the…

PRESIDENTIAL candidates never mention the most important problems we face. National elections are political theater and nothing more. Politicians are grifters, paid off to promote the interests of the Money Power.  

"NOW whilst they were speaking these things, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and saith to them: Peace be to you; it is I, fear not. But they being troubled and frightened, supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them: Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? See my hands and feet, that it is I myself; handle, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and feet. "But while they yet believed not, and wondered for joy, he said: Have you any thing to eat? And they offered him a piece of a broiled fish, and a honeycomb. And when he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them.  And he said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures." --- Luke, 24: 36-45  

FROM an essay by Peter Kreeft: We believe Christ's resurrection can be proved with at least as much certainty as any universally believed and well-documented event in ancient history. To prove this, we do not need to presuppose anything controversial (e.g. that miracles happen). But the skeptic must also not presuppose anything (e.g. that they do not). We do not need to presuppose that the New Testament is infallible, or divinely inspired or even true. We do not need to presuppose that there really was an empty tomb or post-resurrection appearances, as recorded. We need to presuppose only two things, both of which are hard data, empirical data, which no one denies:  The existence of the New Testament texts as we have them, and the existence (but not necessarily the truth) of the Christian religion as we find it today. The question is this: Which theory about what really happened in Jerusalem on that first Easter Sunday can account for the data? There are five possible theories: Christianity, hallucination, myth, conspiracy and swoon. 1. Jesus died. Jesus rose. [ Christianity ] 2. Jesus died. Jesus didn't rise—apostles deceived. [Hallucination] 3. Jesus died. Jesus didn't rise—apostles myth-makers [ Myth ] 4. Jesus died. Jesus didn't rise—apostles deceivers [ Conspiracy ] 5. Jesus didn't die. [ Swoon ] Read more.  

ALAN writes:

As my thoughts amble back down Memory lane, over the Easter Sundays of yesteryear, my most precious remembrances are those day-dreamy St. Louis Easter Sundays.

Always balmy, warm, windless…..folks walked to and from church.

After Easter Sunday services everybody joined the Easter parade. We’d promenade through Forest Park, Shaw’s Garden, and along Kingshighway.

 The ladies done from head to toe in fashionable “hobble skirt” creations of the era strutted alongside their escorts, arms linked, smiling their prettiest, bowing to this one and that one….

 The promenades reeked of elegance. Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief brushed elbows in the Easter promenade, disguised by Easter finery, inspired by the scent of new grass, lilac and magnolia blossoms….”

  — Madeline Dahl Nagle, “A St. Louis Easter Back Then,” Letter to the Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 25, 1951

I can’t remember scenes like those from a hundred years ago, when I imagine many such people found themselves “in the rotogravure” in the big weekend newspapers. But I can remember Easter Sundays in the 1950s.

In March 1956, my mother took me to see the Easter Seals Parade on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis. It was held on National Crippled Children’s Day and included floats decorated with an Easter Lily floral theme.  Members of clubs, schools, and scout groups marched in the parade along with thousands of American service men.

On Easter Sunday that year, my mother took this color slide, as I stood in the back yard of Aunt Leona and Uncle Gus’s home in southwest St. Louis. (more…)

"WE LIKE to think we live in a democratic society, but actually democracy was only allowed when they knew they could control it and it was no threat to their power and wealth." Interesting analysis of our economy based on usury and "turbo-charged inequality" can be found in the first 30-minutes of this talk.  

LEARN more about "The Six Pillars of Intellectual Insanity" in this summary of the work of Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty.  

  

EASTER
— Gerard Manley Hopkins

Break the box and shed the nard;
Stop not now to count the cost;
Hither bring pearl, opal, sard;
Reck not what the poor have lost;
Upon Christ throw all away:
Know ye, this is Easter Day.

Build His church and deck His shrine;
Empty though it be on earth;
Ye have kept your choicest wine—
Let it flow for heavenly mirth;
Pluck the harp and breathe the horn:
Know ye not ‘tis Easter morn?

Gather gladness from the skies;
Take a lesson from the ground;
Flowers do ope their heavenward eyes
And a Spring-time joy have found;
Earth throws Winter’s robes away,
Decks herself for Easter Day. (more…)

  

  

"TODAY a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead." --- Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday  

MORE ANALYSIS of the controlled demolition of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, presented in the news as an accident, can be found here.