The Imaginative Conservative

The animating principle of medieval culture, insofar as it is distinct from Antiquity or Modernity, is the conviction that the ultimate and highest reality is found in the unseen realm—which means that the most fundamental and fruitful way to embrace the medieval spirit is to practice the Faith more like an ordinary Christian of the Middle Ages.

Eric Voegelin stressed that progress falsely demands the sacrifice both of man and God. With history and progress as false gods, the man who would attempt to derail or thwart history is the sinner and may thus, justifiably, be removed, even if by bloody force.

John Keats’ “Great Odes” constitute the pinnacle of classical poetry in the English language and have continued to inspire every generation since his death, attesting to their grounding in universal principles of the human spirit.

Daniel McInerny’s novel is a fine effort and an absorbing and satisfying read. But does he meet the challenges facing the writer of modern Catholic fiction: to somehow tiptoe around the masters, but still stand on their shoulders; to avoid the story being pastiche or preachy, while still allowing the tabernacle lamp to glow in the darkness?

Today in America, people of faith are binding up the unraveled fabric of civil society in tangible ways. We hold the threads individually, but when they are bound together, we can reweave a picture of order and beauty in human souls, woven in the vibrant colors of love.