Week 19 (2024)
contentment & paying laborers, the trades & ditching dating apps, protective beauty & children's prayer, literacy, loneliness & the ache of home
(Click title to open in browser, on the Substack website)
to read: books
The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse — Louise Erdich — This blurb comparing her novel to Death Comes For The Archbishop checks out, and I would also add The Diary Of A Country Priest and The Power And The Glory.
The Religious Potential Of The Child — Sofia Cavalletti — The Christ The Good Shepherd chapter will undo you. (Recent book reads will show this was an especially moving portion, but this time uniquely pertaining to the need for security in young children.)
to read: essays, articles, newsletters
Children's Prayer — Jonathan Culbreath, Plough — “Any teacher who attempts to teach kindergarteners by lecture is wasting his time. Yet this is not necessarily on account of inattentiveness. Children at that age are indeed capable of great feats of attention, but it is an attention that is concentrated on what is taking place in the moment. They are not easily distracted by someone else’s attempt to expound upon some interpretation!”
(related: The Case For Children's Worship Services and Cultivating A Sacramental Vision, shared previously)
- , Stuff I’m Thinking About — “Notwithstanding each of these authors’ difficult young lives, there is something about having been exposed to beauty as a child that they credit as decisive in their respective understandings of their faith.”
(related: this quote from The Brothers Karamazov)
Biblical Literacy In A Postliterate Age — Brad East, Christianity Today — “Perhaps we need more—much more—oral reading, even memorization and performance, of the Scriptures in the assembly. Perhaps we need longer and more detailed exposition of the text in the sermon. Perhaps we need to reimagine what “biblical literacy” can mean: not necessarily the reading and rereading of one’s personal Bible, but a mind, imagination, and vocabulary shot through with the stories and characters and events of Holy Scripture.”
- , The Blue Scholar — “Gen Z is now being called the “toolbelt generation” by some because of the swelling numbers of the youngest cohort of our workforce returning in droves to wrench-turning and various forms of skilled labor.”
(related: parts one, two, three of his Craft and Theology FPR series, shared previously)
What Would Jesus Pay Workers? — C. Don Jones, Plough — “…many Christians, too, have actively promoted higher education and white-collar jobs as ideals. Seeking a better life than your parents, understood as a less physically arduous career, has somehow become a Christian virtue. This seems laudable at first – after all, what parents wouldn’t want their children to live comfortably? But if we believe in the dignity and virtue of all labor – and know that someone needs to do the manual work – why do we encourage young people to escape it? …that disrespect has deep roots in American history – and bad theology.”
(related: The Enchantments Of Mammon and interview with the author, shared previously)
Limitless Wishing And Its Discontents — Christopher J. Lane, Front Porch Republic — “But one can try. Hence, I challenge myself to some rather mundane practices to bring me closer to reality and to gratitude for what I have.”
(related: Embracing A Lifestyle Of Thrift, Thrift Is The Really Romantic Thing and Keep Your Money Close, shared previously)
Gen Z Is Ditching The Dating Apps —
, The Credo Catholic — “My husband and I have nothing to say to his coworkers who ask, desperately, if we know any single women. I tell them that I do know of such women, but they are traditional, religious, and not willing to move in nor fornicate with a guy before marriage. In contrast, these men are not believers. Despite that little hiccup, these are good-looking men that work hard at jobs that pay well. By all accounts, they should have success. And yet, they don’t.”Dating Needs Real-Life Social Networks — Abigail Wise, Fairer Disputations — “App dating has removed these social safeguards from the dating equation, and basic manners and respect have disappeared along with them… women should work together through and with their real-life social networks to set up dates and vouch for friends…”
(related: Cheap Sex, shared previously)
Loneliness — Jacob Stratman, Ekstasis — “Called to the plate, I grab
the fat bat—only wooden one,
the one I need, at night, in this storm: my grace, even if heavy to swing true.”The Ache For Home — Mary Grace Mangano, Comment — “What O’Rourke finds in his research is that, increasingly, Americans distrust their neighbours and do not even know them. Our bonding social capital has decreased, creating fewer bridging networks… All of this is connected to the rise in loneliness—which has only grown after the pandemic—and it means fewer people feel they have a place where they belong. A home.”
(related: No, You Cannot Have It All, Hannah Coulter, The Green Lady, And Me and Longing For Home, shared previously)
to watch, listen to
Continuing On:
The Commonplace with Autumn Kern — How Does Classical Education Nourish The Soul? An Interview w/ Heidi White
to glean from: tip, product, resource
Bogdanov-Belsky Paintings — Found a favorite of them on Etsy because the internet is a vast place of wonderful artwork, and we can bring some of it into our homes - how cool is that?
to look back on
This Week:
You can reply directly to this email if received in your inbox — I always enjoy hearing from y’all that way.
I found the dating app pieces particularly relevant - after making a concerted effort for a year and a half to meet someone in person (church, social clubs, events aimed at 20-30somethings, asking friends, etc) with little success, I downloaded a dating app... and it was a weird experience, to say the least. It feels so dehumanizing to swipe through people based on a few photos and short prompts. At least with social events, there's something to enjoy about the experience even if I don't meet someone. There's nothing independently gained from the time spent on the app. Happy to hear the tide may be changing!
What a treasure trove! Can’t wait to peruse through these!!