Why Today’s Doctor Who is the Most Important of the Season
In just a few hours, “The Doctor’s Wife” will air, and one fan’s dream will come true — and so will many, many more. Neil Gaiman, beloved speculative fiction author, has been a Doctor Who fan for a long time, even coaching his many readers through adjusting to a new actor when Matt Smith replaced … Continue reading
…Yes, Among Other Things
Cross-posted from Push of Pikes. A little over a week, ago, Damian Thompson blogged for UK newspaper Telagraph about the royal wedding. I didn’t blog about it immediately because, well, other things came up. But it hasn’t left my mind since, as I’m more than a little invested in its subject matter.
Holy Saturday: Presence and The Harrowing
O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of thy dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now liveth and reigneth with thee … Continue reading
Maundy Thursday: the Presence of Christ
Tonight is the night Jesus was betrayed, and he will be killed tomorrow. But just as importantly, tonight was the Lord’s Supper, and the institution of the Eucharist. Because, as I’ve talked about before, the Incarnation is inseparable from the work of Christ, the Eucharist’s institution before the crucifixion is supremely important. In order to … Continue reading
On Lazarus and Dives
Like many of the parables in Luke, the story of Lazarus and Dives is a difficult one to understand, with a meaning debated and reinterpreted by writers since the medieval age and still ongoing. While the story is (like the other Lukan parables) at the least a story of God picking the neglected over the … Continue reading
Magnificat: or, an Illumination
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour — — who, though my body sins, saves me both soul and body, so that in my whole being I may praise him. As saint and sinner, adopted child and heir, as contradictory and as essential and true as a virgin … Continue reading
A Short Thought on New Pets
In what’s proven to be a surprisingly difficult Lenten season, there’s a bit more joy in the house this weekend. Yesterday, my sister — always an animal lover — got a Mal-Shi puppy as a month-early birthday present. I’ve been baby-sitting the adorable new addition all day, along with my mother. As yet unnamed, I’m … Continue reading
Lent: Stunned to Silence
Attentive readers of ADoL might notice that holy days are the lifeblood of this blog. Posts I make tend to revolve around the church calendar, either directly or hidden in the subtext. Lent, especially, is a big deal for me — in proportion to how important Easter is to me. I had plans for a … Continue reading
Ethan Brand and the Western Idea of the Soul
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of my favorite short story authors. Together with Poe and Melville, he helped establish the American story tradition as a distinct literary tradition, set apart from British writers. His fiction is often tinted rather darkly, though with the occasional glimmer of hope; with his views on the different roles of fiction … Continue reading
Response: Portrait of a Lady
Until recently, I’ve only read shorter works by Henry James — Daisy Miller, for example. I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed them. Which is why it was pleasant, though a mite confusing, to open up Portrait of a Lady and discover that James had apparently been saving all his good writing for this book. I … Continue reading
A Diversity of Lions 