Earth, the Body, and the Church
The legacy that Wendell Berry, the "ultimate Protestant," leaves for Catholics.
Articles
Do We Trust the Invisible Hand?
“I, Pencil” is a short imaginative essay by Leonard Read about the production of a pencil–from the pencil’s point of view. Do we ever stop to think about how many factors come together to make a simple pencil? The graphite, the wood, the rubber; the carving, the molding–it’s a small act of wonder to stare at the pencil in your hand and contemplate all the societal structures, geopolitical journeys, and labor that happened for it to make it to your desk. The essay illustrates the fundamental “Invisible Hand Theory” of classical economics.
Letter to the Editor: Will Beauty Save the World?
I want to offer some thoughts continuing the conversation on Gabriel’s article examining art as a way to evangelize. I happened to read his article right after listening to Bishop Barron’s interview with movie actors Ethan and Maya Hawke on art, grace, and Flannery O’Connor, which made me more open to Gabriel’s points than I think I was originally.
The Problem with Jordan Peterson
"Peterson focuses on the Cross, while ignoring the Resurrection... Peterson’s worldview, then, is not just incomplete—it’s problematic."
Chickens in the Yard or a Shark on the Roof?
You walk out to fetch the paper in a hillside neighborhood overlooking the city. You pause to appreciate the line of houses demurely separated from the street by ivy-covered fences. As your gaze travels up the hill, you stare. A pair of fins emerges just below the horizon, coming out of the shingles of a small Tudor. A sculpture of a life-size shark appears to have crashed into the roof, interrupting the skyline with a fishy posterior. You call the City Council. But the City Council is knocking at the Cape Cod one block over. A woman opens the door. “We’ve received a complaint that you hang your laundry outside to dry and that you have”—he raises his eyebrows—“chickens.” The woman pushes back a toddler wearing grass-stained overalls as she steps onto the porch.