Video Meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor

The grace of God is not gained by study and practice: it is won by prayer. - Pope Benedict XV

I think [Rod Dreher's] worry for his children - that they will lose the faith - is genuine. It is that very practical concern which overwhelmingly drives him, and I relate to it. But we need to have the faith of Abraham when it comes to our children. We know what the right thing is to do: I expect that Rod knows, he is just trying to talk himself out of it. It just scares the Hell out of us to walk up the mountain with little son Isaac, knife in hand. But Yaweh will come through. That is what Rod (and you, and I) need to accept without reservation. Rod has expressed a bunch of other aesthetic concerns, but I don't think they would even be on the table if it weren't for his worry that his kids will apostasize if they are continually exposed to banal AmChurch heresy. - Zippy of "Zippy Catholic", on the possibility of Dreher leaving Catholicism for Eastern Orthodoxy

The natural camaraderie that our ancestors once felt with their fellow Catholics, the community they enjoyed with their neighbors, the patriotism they shared with their countrymen, the pride in their town, the belonging, the rootedness, the sense of place, the lifelong associations – all of that is gone for most of us. There must be a reason. Perhaps the reason is that time is short and we ought not make too much of these things. All of life is a gradual letting go, a preparation for that day when we must finally release our grasp on this world. That is one way of looking at it. But on the other hand, these earthly supports of faith, family and community are meant to be a help to us. Does not final perseverance come easier when one lives and dies in a culture of faith? I can imagine few things more conducive to despair than dying alone in a sterile hospital room, surrounded by strangers, without so much as a familiar hand to hold, without even a crucifix or the tender face of Our Lady to gaze upon...In former times, the angels of mercy for those dying alone wore black and white habits and were called “sister”. There are too few of them today, and the need for them is greater than ever. - Jeff of "Hallowed Ground"

Ten years ago when I asked a priest [for]... a book that would teach me more of the faith, he handed me a stack of pastoral letters concerning the themes of disarmament and economic justice. Sensing something was amiss, I made the same request of Fr. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute. He overnighted me a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. - Rich Leonardi, on the beginning of his conversion/reversion

No Billy Pilgrim here with the vertiginous careening through Trafalmadorian interference. - Steven of "Flos Carmeli. I have no idea what he means, but I thought it colorful.

Someone wiser than I remarked that the phenomenon of human choice is essentially tragic, because it means that man does not truly know his own good. All choices are made through some combination of reason and virtue with vice, ignorance, or innumerable other personal shortcomings. Like all political movements, contemporary conservatism is set up for a dramatic failure, commitment to choice being one of its tragic flaws.- Kevin Jones of "Philokalia Republic"

The living rule, the holy nun,
awaits her Savior in the sun,
and when the sun puts our her light,
awaits her Savior in the night.

-J. Bottum in latest Crisis

I have listened intently to the voices of the marginalized, those who have most likely been denied a voice in the discourse, the undocumented immigrants. But I have also tried to hear those on the other side of this debate, people who want to tighten down the borders and impose tougher penalties on immigrants who cross the border illegaly. My instinct is to go back and forth between these “sides” until I have a certain opinion born from hearing all the stories and facts. Unfortunately, that’s impossible as only God has a perfect view of it all. Only God can know the truth with certainty. If I can only approach the truth, but never attain it with absolute certainty, then what’s left? Faith. A wager.- blogger at "Rusty Parts" via Camassia

I can’t get too excited about people here illegally when it is the result of a very deliberate policy of non-enforcement...It is Catholic teaching that the wealthy have a special responsibility towards the poor, and that applies to nations as well as individuals. That being said, who are these arrogant, ungrateful, and presumptuous yahoos who think that American citizenship is something foreigners can simply demand? I love immigrants – that is, I love immigrants who are humble, respectful, and deeply grateful to the nation that has generously welcomed them. Of these we have many, and they often make the best citizens. As for the uninvited guests who take to our streets and demand what isn’t theirs, I don’t understand why there isn’t an army of federal agents checking their papers as they are put on buses and summarily deported. - Jeff of "Hallowed Ground"

People sometimes talk of God's love as if it's a pleasant thing. But it is terrible, in a way. Think of all it includes. It included Thad Coulter, drunk and mean and foolish, before he killed Mr. Feltner, and it included him afterwards. - Wendell Berry in "Fidelity: Five Stories" via Thomas of "Endlessly Rocking