Monthly Archives: December 2015

Year In Review, Open

Posted on 31 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

I don’t recall doing this in any previous year, but as I prepare to lighten the load on WordPress, I was looking back over 2015 on this blog. Just looking. In January, this blog plodded along in documents, mainly the Directory … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, The Blogosphere | 7 Comments

Laudato Si 200: Science in Support of Human Harmony

Posted on 31 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. 200. Any technical solution which science claims to offer will be powerless to solve the serious problems of our world if humanity loses its compass, if we lose … Continue reading →

Posted in Laudato Si | Leave a comment

Long Exposure

Posted on 30 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

A dotCommonweal essayist mentions reading an author’s entire output of novels over a year. Interesting. Earlier this year, I reviewed Antonín Dvořák’s last three symphonies a few times, listening consecutively over an evening or afternoon. Last month, I planned to spend some time … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 2 Comments

Premier League Midpoint

Posted on 30 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

Swansea seems to have found the shutoff valve for opposing goals these past three matches. The team’s number one problem is how to score. I trace that problem back to this time last year when they sold their striker Wilfried … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Christmas Lyric Changes

Posted on 30 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

Deacon Greg Kandra, swept up in a re-anchorage at Aleteia, muses on those words they changed. I found the link on PrayTell, where Anthony Ruff reminds us that changing hymn texts is not new at all. The deacon’s concluding argument … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Liturgical Music | 3 Comments

Laudato Si 199: Religions and Science in Dialogue

Posted on 30 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. We complete the document’s fifth chapter with three sections that examine, “Religions in Dialogue with Science.” Note the plural, Pope Francis looks to other faiths to assist in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Laudato Si | Leave a comment

Laudato Si 198: Acknowledging Mistakes, Moving Forward

Posted on 29 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. Wrapping up this section on politics and the economy … 198. Politics and the economy tend to blame each other when it comes to poverty and environmental degradation. … Continue reading →

Posted in Laudato Si | Leave a comment

On My Bookshelf: The Grace of Kings

Posted on 28 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

I remember as a young teen coming to about forty pages from the end of The Fellowship of the Ring before realizing the book was coming to an end soon, and there weren’t enough pages to resolve the plot. So … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, On My Bookshelf | Tagged , | 1 Comment

More Catholic Than …

Posted on 28 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

… Matthew Kelly. Here. I have to confess I thought Mr Kelly was more a darling of the Catholic Right. The milder part of that lung, to be sure. But here is a denier, it seems, who objects to one … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, The Blogosphere | Tagged | 24 Comments

Laudato Si 197: Seeing Far

Posted on 28 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. 197. What is needed is a politics which is far-sighted and capable of a new, integral and interdisciplinary approach to handling the different aspects of the crisis. How … Continue reading →

Posted in Laudato Si | Leave a comment

Laudato Si 196: Subsidiarity

Posted on 27 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. Subsidiarity is not just local control, but appropriate levels of responsibility for each person: 196. What happens with politics? Let us keep in mind the principle of subsidiarity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Laudato Si | Leave a comment

Early Singing About Magi

Posted on 26 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

Devin and Liam’s comments about “WCIT” brought to mind an issue of certain Christmas songs. One concern voiced about singing “Wood of the Cradle” at my parish was a third verse that mentioned the magi. “That’s why we never learned it,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Liturgical Music | 1 Comment

Laudato Si 195: Economy, Not Tyranny

Posted on 26 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. 195. The principle of the maximization of profits, frequently isolated from other considerations, reflects a misunderstanding of the very concept of the economy. Well-stated. Maximizing profits apart from … Continue reading →

Posted in Laudato Si | Leave a comment

“Christmas that lasts forever”

Posted on 25 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

From Karl Rahner’s The Eternal Year: Now God says to us What He has already said to the earth as a whole Through His grace-filled birth: I am there. I am with you. I am your life. I am your … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, spirituality | 9 Comments

Two From A Gentle Night

Posted on 24 December 2015 by catholicsensibility

A modern Christmas song here. David Haas covered it a number of years ago, but the original has a more nuanced guitar, plus some understated strings. When I was in my grad school days, my music director pulled out a … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Liturgical Music | 1 Comment