Bright Darkness & Guadalupe

Some follow up thoughts on that subject over at Radiopaper thanks to some kind questions. "Christian darkness is a darkness shot through with Eucharistic light." Then some more on Guadalupe: "If Guadalupe is really about evangelization, we can’t leave out the need to evangelize historians." And theodicy, and the refreshing of an older post.

East by Southwest

A freshening up of an older piece over on the substack.

The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art

For the April Material Mysticism column, my interview with Jonathan Anderson regarding his bombshell of a book.

Holy Saturday

A good day to think about this.

Our Lady of Chicago

  Now with original photographs!

Romania Revisited

 I have revised and re-posted an older article at substack with some new photographs. 

Two Sermons

 One at John Brown University and the other at St. James Cathedral, Chicago.

The Mary Underground

My article on global Marian underground sanctuaries at Comment is out from paywall today: a photographic negative of architectural history to offset limelight-sickened faith. The designers outdid themselves:

After the Heresy Hunt

Here is my review of books by Cynthia Bourgeault... all of them (so far as I know). It's called The Wildest Christianity of All. Along the way I show how the notorious Bishop Spong accidentally embraced orthodox Christianity, and entertain (with caution) ways of assimilating G.I. Gurdjieff (of Enneagram fame) back into the church. Spoiler alert: I'm a traditional Christian, and so, I very much think, publisher marketing strategies notwithstanding, is she.

Definitely Maybe

 On not being a universalist, over at substack.

Monsoon Season

 ...is how I refer to Wheaton's annual social media maelstrom. If you'd like my thoughts, they're on offer via x or facebook). I'm also cheating on millinerd https:illinea bit with substack.

2025 Kickoff

A conversation on the metahistorical Fall, with a not so tortured artist at Material Mysticism, and my article Hive Mind on Thomas Merton, Alan Watts and the Church of the East is outside of paywall.

All the Horrible Ideas of 2024

(Not including the political ones.) With free links to antidotes.

1. "Nonduality" is an entirely Hindu concept. (antidote: The Tree of India)

2. Christian mysticism cannot be visualized. (antidote: That Man of Understanding)

3. Once you become "contemplative" you no longer need to go to church. (antidote: The Skeptical Mystic).

4. The Renaissance left mysticism behind. (antidote: Evagrius in Florence)

5. AI has revolutionized traditional Christian iconography. (antidote: Picturing Aphou)

6. If it's not trad, it's bad. (antidote: The Architecture of Prayer)

7. Dionysius the Areopagite is dead. (antidote: The Chief of Mystics at the Met)

8. The Whitney Biennial was moribund and New York is dead. (antidote: Giving the Whitney Biennial a Chance)

9. Prayer is a sedative. (antidote: Pray like a Cicada)

10. Womb or tomb: Pick one.  (antidote: A New Pro-Life Image) 

11. Jesus was hot. (antidote: Artistic Humility) 

12. The best theology is always written. (antidote: A Wedding in London)

13. Jesus may have defeated death but contemporary art was too much for him. (antidote: Art Haters Anonymous)

14. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's ideas should be uncritically adopted or handled like radioactive waste. (antidote: At the Field Museum with Father Teilhard)

15. Queer Theory fully explains the Canadian Cree artist Kent Monkman. (antidote: Missionary Position)

16. Alan Watts is a true sage and Christianity has never really understood Buddhism. (antidote: Hive Mind)

17. Sustained devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary beyond Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy is impossible. (antidote: The Secret of Walsingham).

18. The "end of wokeness" means we don't have to talk about Native Americans anymore. (antidote: Depth Mariology)

19. Emptiness is Buddhist (at best) or nihilist (at worst), and Our Lady of Guadalupe is exhaustible. (antidote: Our Lady of Emptiness). 

Untruths, each of them! May they becloud your mind no more. (if you prefer substack, it's all there too).

Merry rest of Advent and Christmas!

Material Mysticism #12

The first season at Material Mysticism ends with my completely ayahuasca-free spiritual journey to Mexico. It's an unusual approach this year, I admit.

Depth Mariology

Here's an Advent epistle I wrote from Wheaton College to Notre Dame at Church Life Journal. Topics covered include Native Americans, abolitionism, football and contemplative prayer. More along these lines coming out early next years in Comment.