The Weight of the Leash

By | October 30, 2026

[October 30, 2026]  I never planned to think of a dog as a test of character. Then one lived in my house long enough that the test became daily.  The weight of the leash is what I want to explain. Most of what people say about dogs is true, but it leaves something out. They are loyal and… Read More »

Is the Catholic Church For Sale?

By | October 29, 2026

[October 29, 2026]  For many who follow the Catholic Church, we have noticed that the church’s senior leaders make public announcements that are inconsistent with the faith.  What we have witnessed raises the question whether the Catholic Church is for sale. Lay Catholic and opinion writer Joseph Fosco has focused much of his writing calling for the consistent… Read More »

France’s President Emmanuel Macron: the “Manager”

By | October 28, 2026

[October 28, 2026]  How do you describe the elected leader of a nation who is caught in a violent nightmare, and doesn’t know what to do about it, or even to admit there is a problem?  France’s president Emmanuel Macron is best seen as France’s “manager” of government affairs.  Or, what I initially thought: “pathetically weak.” So, is… Read More »

The Battle that Broke Muslim Spain

By | October 27, 2026

[October 27, 2026]  The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (16 July 1212), near modern Santa Elena in Jaén province in southern Spain, was a major Christian victory over the Almohad Caliphate during the Reconquista.  It has been often referred to as the Battle that Broke Muslim Spain. A coalition led by Alfonso VIII of Castile, with Peter… Read More »

The Hawk and the Nightingale Interpreted

By | October 26, 2026

[October 26, 2026]  Another of Aesop’s fables.  This is one of the most ancient fables on record, and predates Aesop by centuries.  It is also one of the least known: The Hawk and the Nightingale. And now I will tell a fable for princes who themselves understand. Thus said the hawk to the nightingale with speckled neck, while… Read More »

The Tortoise and the Hare Interpreted

By | October 23, 2026

[October 23, 2026]  Aesop’s fable involving a race between two very different contestants remains my personal favorite.  The Tortoise and the Hare has lessons for us all; from the youngest to the oldest. “A Hare was one day making fun of a Tortoise for being so slow upon his feet. “Wait a bit,” said the Tortoise; “I’ll run… Read More »

Wives, Submit to Your Husbands

By | October 22, 2026

[October 22, 2026]  In our modern society, we hear talk that wives should never “submit to” their husbands; and that those who do are acquiescing to a form of “slavery.” The implication would be that wives are inherently subordinate or inferior to their husbands. That’s a modern, feminist exaggeration, and it misreads both biblical text and history alike.… Read More »

RULE 71: Failure is Not the Enemy

By | October 21, 2026

[October 21, 2026]  Failure is not the enemy. That statement runs against the grain of how most people actually live. They treat a defeat as a catastrophe to be avoided, or as proof that their entire enterprise was mistaken from the start. The practical consequence is that they keep their aims deliberately vague. If the target is never… Read More »