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November 13, 2018
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Be sure not to miss these recent articles by alumni writers:

  • K. Colombini
    K. E. Colombini ('85)
    In Crisis, K. E. Colombini (85) ponders in a digital society where, paradoxically, an increasing number of goods are now immaterial, and yet our homes are bursting with ever-more possessions. 淟acking in the vast majority of these discussions in the mainstream media is the spiritual side of the equation, he writes. 淓ven in talking about the benefits of minimalism, we often take a secular approach. By shedding our possessions, we become liberated from them, freer to travel and spend our money elsewhere. If there檚 anything 榯iny houses are built for, it檚 not for large families, nor for entertaining and showing hospitality to large groups. In a consumerist society, he asks, 淲hat should be our relationship with our possessions? Do they own us, or do we own them?

 

  • Erik Bootsma
    Erik Bootsma ('01)
    Also in Crisis, alumnus architect Erik Bootsma (01) writes about the newly dedicated Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville, Tennessee a hopeful sign, he says, that . 淭he richness of the architecture of the new cathedral points to and beautifies the sanctuary, Mr. Bootsma argues, and that is key to both architectural and theological renewal. 淭he sanctuary, which took its form from the Holy of Holies, does not just symbolize the past, but is a conscious prefigurement of the Heavenly City to come and Christ檚 eternal presence. We begin to understand, too, that God was present in earlier times, in the Temple, and will be present in heaven, but also that he is present now.

 

  • Sophia Feingold
    Sophia Feingold ('09)
    Finally, in the National Catholic Register Sophia (Mason 09) Feingold considers and finds the oft-dispensed maxim wanting. 淭o forgive and to forget are not the same thing, she observes. 淭he judge who sentences a man to life in prison has not necessarily refused to forgive him; he has simply determined that the prisoner檚 character requires remediation, or society protection. The parent who sends a child to their room to 榯hink about the nasty thing they said to Aunt Jessica is not necessarily unforgiving; they genuinely want their son or daughter to take five and come to a child檚-level understanding of how their words were hurtful. Forgiveness and punishment can and do coexist. Otherwise the Catholic doctrine of purgatory would be risible on the face of it.