I recall being positively shocked upon reading Lewis’ “Surprised by Joy” in which he details his experience at boys’ school. It sounds like unfortunately not enough had changed even by the time young Ed. attended. One of the really hard but also pretty cool things about being a parent these days is the chance to re-think what schooling looks like for your own children.
Also, I will offer a specific prayer this afternoon at my Holy Hour for the Condon family housing situation to be resolved peacefully and happily for all concerned.
Ed..Your recollection paints a picture of a school that, while seemingly unrelenting in its discipline and arbitrary standards, nonetheless shaped you into the writer you are today. While you may never remember it fondly, it’s hard to ignore that the very rigor and sharp-edged wit you describe have left their mark on your prose. If that was structured brutality, at least it forged something brilliant. Would you trade that for a childhood spent in the woods with a book and a knife? Perhaps, but then we might not have the outstanding writer we do today.
I attended an American high school more or less straight out of the movies, so I had to wait until grad school before I had a professor who took a smoke break halfway through our 3 hour seminar. Of course he would let any students who cared to join him. In your charity, say a prayer for the repose of the soul of the late great Dennis Covington.
To these people I recommend fasting from all news of any kind for the remainder of Lent. As the guy said in the TV show Monk "you'll thank me later". Do not allow the duties of one's state in life to engulf the entirety of the time thus liberated (a fair share is fine); some of it should be spent in mental prayer and this should be allocated first, in the same way that personal-financial hobbyists exhort one another to save for retirement ("pay yourself first").
Let us all hunger and thirst for holiness (as lungs desire air, or in some cases tobacco smoke apparently) not only for ourselves but for the entire mystical body of Christ (afflicted with so many sins and imperfections sucking the lifeblood out of our holy aspirations and encouraging us to accept mediocrity, ... memory suggests the leech scene in Stand By Me is the degree of horror with which we should regard this). But first and foremost for ourselves because that is where we can do real work and because even the smallest change in ourselves for the better or worse will be reflected in the entire Church.
Ed, I see the beginning and ending of this weeks newsletter as a kind of segue. Having experienced the “necessity move” with children, myself; I’ve found it helpful to prioritize family needs. So for me that became (1) Church, (2) schools, (3) neighborhoods and (4) comfort of the new accommodation. As for concerns about “roots”, I would remind you of the roots you’ve established here with The Pillar. There are many many of us who are praying for you.
"And sometimes we get notes from readers asking us, basically, what’s the point of covering these stories — they’re all sad, discouraging instances of human failure, but nobody got hurt, really. It’s only money, after all, etc."
Nobody got hurt?
I think your critics need to improve their moral imaginations.
Without even scrolling down, I knew Brick Part 2 was going to be the video music clip. Bravo, Ed. Glad you made it out, we're all the better for having you in our lives.
// “For years, former President Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it.”
He’s just one of several bishops who have weighed in on the arrest and the controversial legacy of the former president. //
Catholic Bishops seem to be complying happily with the secular mania for using legal weapons to punish politicians who have, unhappily, gone out of power and thus lost their de facto immunity. Didn't like the previous President? Put him in prison. Our bishop approves, so it must be OK.
Rodrigo Duterte has actual crimes to answer for. His drug policies gave immunity to police and vigilantes to murder any person with any involvement in illegal drugs. Addicts, ex-addicts and criminals alike. Complete with a bounty per person. A former colleague of mine in Australia lost her cousin. He was 21. He’d been sober a full year and had a kid. He was gunned down in broad daylight in a public area. Then there’s the corruption, and the fact that he used the police to hassle anyone who publically opposed his policies. The embarrassing thing is that a Marcos is now back in power in the Philippines and that’s considered an improvement…
// If financial crime is the “next big scandal,” do the bishops need a Dallas Charter on money problems to deal with it, JD asked? //
Shoplifting is becoming almost not a non-crime in the secular culture, so maybe secular priests who rob churches should be given a pass, too. After all, who are we to judge?
// As JD wrote in his analysis, “While many dioceses have made strides toward auditing and identifying financial misconduct, bishops rarely use the criminal and canonical tools available to them to see perpetrators punished. And that reality diminishes the deterrent for clerics or employees tempted toward theft to think again.” //
It's all relative now, no? Perhaps in Father T's home culture everyone would have thought that it wasn't really theft but more like borrowing money from the family. Multiculturalism and globalism require us to broaden our moral horizons, no?
We don't need no education, Ed.
Has Mr. Condon seen the episode of Green Wing which discusses Guy's public school experience? (NB: EXTREMELY NSFW)
I recall being positively shocked upon reading Lewis’ “Surprised by Joy” in which he details his experience at boys’ school. It sounds like unfortunately not enough had changed even by the time young Ed. attended. One of the really hard but also pretty cool things about being a parent these days is the chance to re-think what schooling looks like for your own children.
Also, I will offer a specific prayer this afternoon at my Holy Hour for the Condon family housing situation to be resolved peacefully and happily for all concerned.
Ed..Your recollection paints a picture of a school that, while seemingly unrelenting in its discipline and arbitrary standards, nonetheless shaped you into the writer you are today. While you may never remember it fondly, it’s hard to ignore that the very rigor and sharp-edged wit you describe have left their mark on your prose. If that was structured brutality, at least it forged something brilliant. Would you trade that for a childhood spent in the woods with a book and a knife? Perhaps, but then we might not have the outstanding writer we do today.
I attended an American high school more or less straight out of the movies, so I had to wait until grad school before I had a professor who took a smoke break halfway through our 3 hour seminar. Of course he would let any students who cared to join him. In your charity, say a prayer for the repose of the soul of the late great Dennis Covington.
> what’s the point of covering these stories
To these people I recommend fasting from all news of any kind for the remainder of Lent. As the guy said in the TV show Monk "you'll thank me later". Do not allow the duties of one's state in life to engulf the entirety of the time thus liberated (a fair share is fine); some of it should be spent in mental prayer and this should be allocated first, in the same way that personal-financial hobbyists exhort one another to save for retirement ("pay yourself first").
Let us all hunger and thirst for holiness (as lungs desire air, or in some cases tobacco smoke apparently) not only for ourselves but for the entire mystical body of Christ (afflicted with so many sins and imperfections sucking the lifeblood out of our holy aspirations and encouraging us to accept mediocrity, ... memory suggests the leech scene in Stand By Me is the degree of horror with which we should regard this). But first and foremost for ourselves because that is where we can do real work and because even the smallest change in ourselves for the better or worse will be reflected in the entire Church.
Desert solidarity, Ed..
Praying for your housing situation.
Ed, I see the beginning and ending of this weeks newsletter as a kind of segue. Having experienced the “necessity move” with children, myself; I’ve found it helpful to prioritize family needs. So for me that became (1) Church, (2) schools, (3) neighborhoods and (4) comfort of the new accommodation. As for concerns about “roots”, I would remind you of the roots you’ve established here with The Pillar. There are many many of us who are praying for you.
"And sometimes we get notes from readers asking us, basically, what’s the point of covering these stories — they’re all sad, discouraging instances of human failure, but nobody got hurt, really. It’s only money, after all, etc."
Nobody got hurt?
I think your critics need to improve their moral imaginations.
I want to read more about your schooling! I could read a book in the style of that last bit.
Without even scrolling down, I knew Brick Part 2 was going to be the video music clip. Bravo, Ed. Glad you made it out, we're all the better for having you in our lives.
// “For years, former President Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it.”
He’s just one of several bishops who have weighed in on the arrest and the controversial legacy of the former president. //
Catholic Bishops seem to be complying happily with the secular mania for using legal weapons to punish politicians who have, unhappily, gone out of power and thus lost their de facto immunity. Didn't like the previous President? Put him in prison. Our bishop approves, so it must be OK.
Rodrigo Duterte has actual crimes to answer for. His drug policies gave immunity to police and vigilantes to murder any person with any involvement in illegal drugs. Addicts, ex-addicts and criminals alike. Complete with a bounty per person. A former colleague of mine in Australia lost her cousin. He was 21. He’d been sober a full year and had a kid. He was gunned down in broad daylight in a public area. Then there’s the corruption, and the fact that he used the police to hassle anyone who publically opposed his policies. The embarrassing thing is that a Marcos is now back in power in the Philippines and that’s considered an improvement…
// If financial crime is the “next big scandal,” do the bishops need a Dallas Charter on money problems to deal with it, JD asked? //
Shoplifting is becoming almost not a non-crime in the secular culture, so maybe secular priests who rob churches should be given a pass, too. After all, who are we to judge?
// As JD wrote in his analysis, “While many dioceses have made strides toward auditing and identifying financial misconduct, bishops rarely use the criminal and canonical tools available to them to see perpetrators punished. And that reality diminishes the deterrent for clerics or employees tempted toward theft to think again.” //
It's all relative now, no? Perhaps in Father T's home culture everyone would have thought that it wasn't really theft but more like borrowing money from the family. Multiculturalism and globalism require us to broaden our moral horizons, no?
Moving is hard, even when an occasion for hopes and joy, freely chosen.
Your every virtue will be tested.
Pray for personal growth as you pray for help in circumstances beyond your control.
May you receive aid as you freely turn aside to give help to others along the way.
May God bless you and your family more greatly than you might expect.