Reading Fiction Broadens Our Experience of Life!

I have a friend who says she never reads fiction. She considers it a waste of time. That's unfathomable to me! My response is to recall a fictional conversation between Anne Shirley and Marilla in the novel Anne of Green Gables beautifully depicted in the movie where Anne is played by Megan Follows and Marilla by Colleen Dewhurst. Anne asks Marilla if she can call her Aunt Marilla. Marilla says no, just call her Marilla since she doesn't believe in people using names that are not their own. "You could imagine you're my aunt," Ann suggests. Marilla replies, "No I could not." "Don't you ever imagine things differently from what they are?" Ann asks. "No!" is Marilla's short reply. With a sigh and a little headshake Ann takes Marilla's hand lamenting, "Oh Marilla, how much you miss." 

Fr. James Schall Understands Islam...

...and unless we do too, we will continue to be vulnerable to international jihad by both violent means and by immigration and birth. Islam came close to taking over Europe in the middle ages. Today it is rising again and Europe is on the verge of becoming an Islamic continent. Let us not allow it to happen here in America!

Why I believe in Islam

Lenten Meditation on Anger: Is it a Virtue or a Vice?

Lent is a good time to work on developing our virtues and squelching our vices. So let's consider one of the seven deadly sins, anger. What is it and can anger ever be a good thing?

   In view of the fact that God often expressed anger toward the evil behavior of the Israelites and Christ expressed anger toward the money changers in the temple and the hypocrisy of the pharisees, anger cannot be a universal evil. Fr. James Schall has an interesting article on the Catholic Thing discussing anger. You may be surprised at some of what he says:

Reflecting on Social Justice: But What Is It?

Does this depict the meaning of social justice for Catholics?

Social justice is a phrase thrown about frequently. For many it means act like Robin Hood. Take from the rich (anyone who has more than you do) and give it to those who have less (you, of course). We're not talking voluntary giving here, but forced "charity" usually handled by government bureaucrats who have the power to coerce redistribution of income from workers to takers (often those whom they see as voting blocks grateful for government largesse  using other people's money).

Bertie and Jeeves: The Madcap Duo

I love P.G. Wodehouse and his madcap stories of Bertie Wooster and his "man" Jeeves! It amazes me when people tell me they just can't read his stuff. Well, I can't either -- in public that is -- because it is laugh-out-loud looney. Bertie is the three stooges rolled into one, only with class and style (Thanks to Jeeves!) and a sense of loyalty and friendship that lands him in the most ridiculous scrapes and adventures. Jeeves is the perfect foil, educated, brilliant, and always ready to get Bertie and his buddies out of the soup.

Fr. James Schall, S.J., who teaches at Georgetown, wrote a delightful article (See here.) about a 1951 Wodehouse collection called Weekend Wodehouse. It brought a smile to my face and an eagerness to pull a sample from my Wodehouse shelf and reread. Here's an excerpt from from Father's article, but really, you must read it in its entirety:

In my early years, after discovering him – a notable event in the life of any man – I used to say that Wodehouse is to be read with a dictionary. But on finishing Weekend Wodehouse, I think I was wrong. Wodehouse does stretch one’s vocabulary. But it is not the meaning of the words that is novel or unknown. It is their placement.



For instance, I did not count the number of times the word “looney” came up. It is a marvelous word. It appears in the first story – “even with an uncle within a short jump of the looney bin….” Looney uncles, looney friends populate Wodehouse. The word comes either from a wobbly bird or from the moon, a kind of pleasant madness. No one would want to live in a world in which no looney characters were encountered.

We live in times that are so serious and downright depressing that you need a good bellylaugh now and then to maintain your balance. And that's the gift of Wodehouse - pure unadulterated fun. Whether Bertie is trying to cop a constable's helmet, save a maiden in distress, lift a silver cow pitcher, get out of an unfortunate engagement, etc. his adventures tickle your funnybone. But Wodehouse isn't exclusively about Bertie and Jeeves. I recently read a collection of his golf stories that feature the "Oldest Member" of a country club telling hilarious golf stories. They are vintage Wodehouse. What a great gift for the golfer in your life, especially one who takes the game too seriously!

If you've never read Wodehouse, or if you've tried and don't like the stories, give the BBC TV series with Hugh Laurie as Bertie a try. I think the second season is the best. I laughed out loud watching it, especially when Bertie gets the "Alex look" which reminds me of one of my grandchildren. But do read the books. As Hillaire Belloc wrote in the introduction to Weekend Wodehouse:

“For the English people, more than any other, have created in their literature living men and women rather than types and Mr. Wodehouse has created Jeeves. He has created others, but in his creation of Jeeves he has done something which may respectfully be compared to the work of the Almighty in Michelangelo’s painting. He has formed a man filled with the breath of life.”

Wodehouse's characters inhabit a past that has disappeared from England, but it lives on in the imaginations of those who love and read Wodehouse. May they be many.