The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary

1

The Latin of the Latin Mass: The Pater Noster

The Pater Noster is the greatest and most familiar prayer of the Church, taught to us by our Lord himself.  Incessant repetition of a prayer is a very good and necessary thing, but if we are not careful, we may cease to ponder on it.  There are many fine commentaries by St. John Chrysostom, St. Thomas, et alii, which bring out the spiritual riches.  I am only a philologist, a student of languages, and will confine myself to elucidating the words.  Some of what I have to say—and more—can be found in the podcasts we did on the subject.

2

Why Four Gospels?

Why does the Church authorize four Gospels?  Of course there were many other versions, and some of them, surely, contained useful details.  And, on the other hand, if we could not be permitted to read a dozen, why not one comprehensive story, which would avoid confusion and discourage the sneers of skeptics who search the texts for discrepancies?

5

Wednesday’s Child: Back to the Trout Stream

My thesis last week was that the ambition to create world caliphates on the part of groups or regimes with totalitarian methods and aims often breaks on strategic mistiming, of which the invasions of Israel and Ukraine are examples currently in the news. Peace, peace, peace is the war by which the West is won, whereas those who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.

0

Ukraine War Endgame

The end of a war often is the nastiest part. Look at the Afghanistan fiasco just over two years ago. Or the helicopters lifting off from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in 1975, followed by the exodus of the Boat People…. Which is why the Ukraine War, as it enters its final phase, could get nasty.