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A Few Hints and Signposts for Your Time Here
Not all who wander are lost… Even so, lest the disarray of musings on this site confound, I’ve added some hints for you, the reader, as to what you can find here. (These hints will also serve me in helping me to tidy up and discern what belongs on this site as I continue writing here). Thus, you’ll find two tables of contents below. The first table (“Contents at a Glance”) is a high-level breakdown of some main topics I write on, with each topic linking down to an entry in the second table. This second table (“Contents in Depth”) lists the articles I’ve written that fall under that topic heading. (Note that each of the posts linked will have a link back to the general contents table.)
Finally, a word as to the unifying theme of these articles. This website is intended to be a collection of answers to questions that people have about theology, philosophy, and spirituality within the Roman Catholic tradition. More specifically, I take for my starting point an outlook that people generally call “thomistic.” (Even more specifically, I give special privilege and weight in my own musings to the musings of a set of thinkers whom I group together under the label “Dominican Thomism.” I hope to give some indications of what that means in an article down the line)
Happy wandering!
Contents at a Glance
The following are landing pages for general topics that I’m writing articles about. Each landing page has more details of the articles relating to the topic in question.
Contents in Depth
Under the following topic headers are brief descriptions linking to various articles.
(Please note that some of the articles are still in progress and link to the Under Construction page, where you can leave a comment if there’s an article that you’d like prioritized. I’ve got a good number of articles queued up for publication, so apologies if any one in particular takes longer than you’d like.)
Sacraments
Reconciliation: The sacrament of penance.
God desires to show us a profound and gratuitous mercy. We often need a reminder of this truth, so check out the article He Doesn’t Remember.
Sacramentals: Signs of Signs.
The article Just What is a Sacramental? looks at the basics regarding those special treasures offered us by the Church.
Catholic Family Life
Familiar Benedictions: The Importance of Family Blessings
An important practice for parents is to bless their children. However, in my experience, that beautiful custom doesn’t get much coverage in theological writing today. The article Parental Blessings for Children explores the importance of basics. A Little Sign for Little Ones explores the sacramental nature of these blessings. (Note that the article What is a Blessing? is also of relevance here.)
Philosophy
The Love of Wisdom: Philosophy as a Discipline
The article What is Philosophy? explores that important question around the discipline of philosophy.
Theology
Sacred Theology: God’s Science Shared with Man
Today, theology is viewed as one of the “arts” in distinction from one of the “sciences.” For example, if you earn a master’s degree in theology, you’ll probably receive an “M.A.” (a Master of Arts) degree. Yet the thomistic view of theology is quite different. Check out the article Theology as a Science for more. (Note that the article What is Science? is of relevance here.)
Theology isn’t a science like physics or mathematics. In those sciences human efforts produce knowledge of the natural world. Theology is a science radically based on faith. It’s like the knowledge that a novice has from listening to a teacher. You can find more on that in the article What’s Known by God and His Saints.
Revelation: God Speaks to Man
In considering topics of theology, perhaps the most importance question to start out with is “What is Revelation?” Check out the article The God who Revels Himself.
An apt description of the mystery of God’s loving condescension to man is the image of parent and child. This image is explored in the article Ineffable Words of Love.
The mystery of the interrelation between Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition is explored in the article Ad Fontes.
Sacred Scripture: One Stream from the Divine Font
On the mode of revelation employed by Sacred Scripture, see the article Everyday Words Seem to Turn Into Love Songs.
Sacred Scripture
Sacra Pagina: Scripture as Revelation
The mystery of the interrelation between Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition is explored in the article Ad Fontes.
Science
Medieval Science: The Medieval View of Science
Science is Today, theology is viewed as one of the “arts” in distinction from one of the “sciences.” For example, if you earn a master’s degree in theology, you’ll probably receive an “M.A.” (a Master of Arts) degree. Yet the thomistic view of theology is quite different. Check out the article Theology as a Science for more. (Note that the article What is Science is of relevance here.)
Science as Ultimate Arbiter: Our Contemporary View of Science
It’s funny to encounter the phrase/ Of course, science is You can find more on that in the article A Monopoly on Truth.
Revelation: God Speaks to Man
In considering topics of theology, perhaps the most importance question to start out with is “What is Revelation?” Check out the article The God who Revels Himself.
Divine Condescension: The Mode of Revelation
Our experience of human forgiveness colors how we perceive divine forgiveness. An important question for people is whether God really forgives. Of course, we need to start by asking, “What is Revelation?” (The topic of the article by the same name)
Media Meditations
Thoughts from Movies
La La Land (2016) provides the basis for the article Dream Obscuring Dream.
Blog Posts
Check back later!