Honour, Virtue, and Not-Unpleasant Accents

It's (still) the summertime, and from my lofty perch top atop the Honorary Chair of Leisure as Culture, I can't think of a better time to review some recent — and not-so-recent — works of literature and television concerning Catholics living in times of tempestuous social change!

It also happens that this post coincides with the centenary of WWI, which is the setting for Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End trilogy. This great tragedy that marked the beginning of the 20th century could not be stopped, despite attempts to secure peace by the reigning Pope and the devout Catholic Emperor of Austria. 

Benedict XV

Blessed Charles/Karl I 

No Laughing Matter

(Picture c/o: The Laugh Factory, via Twitter)

Much has been said about the tragic death of actor, comedian and occasional Bigfoot sighting Robin Williams. Public reaction has been incredibly strong, with people of every generation expressing sorrow, almost as if a beloved family member had died. The circumstances of his passing have ignited yet another National Conversation™, this time about clinical depression and suicide.

Humble Feminism: Why I Veil in Mass

Time for a totally not rad-trad moment with Tani! Please put away your pitchforks and your Spirit & Song hymnals; we won't be needing them today. Because today, we're going to be talking about...

Spanish Seville Mantilla in black and silver, by Veils by Lily

Veiling in Mass! 

I say those words, and I can immediately see what's going on in your heads: Visions of old, mumbling grandmothers alternate with specters of severe nuns, as the words "patriarchy" and "sexist" and "woman-shaming" float in terrifying Comic Sans above. Veiling in Mass, Tani, you say? Didn't Vatican II save us from that idea, that women were shameful and needed covering up? Aren't you supposed to be a "feminist"?

Well, first of all, the Church has never held to that ideology, and secondly, I'm going to present to you today three reasons why I veil, and why I think that women (especially feminists!) should veil in Mass. For the sake of clarity, I shall use the very general idea of feminism, which is that women, though different from men, are endowed with the same dignity and ability to attain Heaven. There shall be no Femen-esque "feminism" here, thank you very much.

CAPTION THIS: When Francis Met Food

"Psst! Should I tell the Holy Father not to place his elbows on the table?"
"Giorgio, the man is the shepherd of over 1.2 billion souls. I think we can cut him some slack."
(Full story here. Picture c/o: AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Happy August, everyone! We're officially entering the dog days of summer (for those of you reading this in the Northern Hemisphere which, let's be honest, is almost all of you), and what better way to pass the time than to enter yet another caption contest?! I mean, besides barbecuing and going to the beach. Whatever. The cool kids always leave me out of these things...

Where were we? Oh, yes. The winner of our last caption contest is...