Category Archives: Blog

René Girard Via First Things

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

The journal First Things has recently featured on its website a short essay by Peter J. Leithart entitled ‘Clashing Victimocracies!’  The author explores the privileged and problematic position of the ‘victim’ in current social and political debate. In doing so … Continue reading →

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Something Imponderable…

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

This Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the end of “The War To End All Wars”. The conflict lasted over four years and involved more than 70 million combatants. An estimated nine million soldiers were killed in the course of … Continue reading →

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The Religious Backdrop of the Vote

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

This past week people across the United States participated in the public ritual of voting. These days, though, it is becoming less of a public act at the polling place and more of a private affair with the advent of … Continue reading →

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The Public Atmospherics of Health

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Gil Bailie

Here is a very timely message from the pen of Hans Urs von Balthasar, written decades before the current crisis in the Catholic Church: “The bold venture of speaking openly concerns everything that must urgently be said in Church and … Continue reading →

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New Items from the Archives & Notes on a New Perspective

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

When Gil Bailie first encountered the work of René Girard in the mid-1980s he had for years been hosting weekly gatherings for discussion of classics from the Western literary and spiritual tradition. These discussions became over time more in the … Continue reading →

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Spiritual Adventure

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Gil Bailie

    I am no George Bernanos, but what the French novelist said about the condition of a Christian writer conforms to my own experience:   “If the good Lord really wants you to bear witness, you must expect to … Continue reading →

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The Work of Humility

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

Reflections for Labor Day: God gave me being in order that I should give it back to him. It is like one of those traps whereby the characters are tested in fairy stories and tales on ini­tiation. If I accept … Continue reading →

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Summer Newsletter & Complimentary Download – King Lear Pt 4

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

Here in California it looks like we are in for another difficult and dangerous fire season. The skies are again hazy with the smoke of numerous not too distant blazes. As we pray for those who fight the fires and … Continue reading →

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Feeding the gods

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Gil Bailie

One of the great values of what John Paul II called the Splendor of Truth is that it shatters even the most impervious ideological barriers erected to hide it. A recent archeological find in Mexico City detailed in Science magazine … Continue reading →

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The 4th of July Prayer Party

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Randy Coleman-Riese

We are aware (and thankful) that we have many friends and supporters who live in countries around the world. Gil Bailie and I pray for those whose names we know wherever they happen to reside. However, today is our national … Continue reading →

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