by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | A mother of four daughters raising a family in nineteenth century America in the background of the Civil War, Mrs. March educates her children in manners and morals...
Read More »Magician & Teacher: How Prospero Evokes the Sense of Wonder
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | In The Tempest, Prospero plays the part of father to his daughter Miranda, ruler of the island he governs with justice and mercy...
Read More »The Little Mermaid: A Message of Perfect, Patient Love
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | In Hans Anderson’s 'Fairy Tales,' the little mermaid, youngest of six, makes a crucial life decision that none of her older sisters make.
Read More »Variety: The Secret to Enjoying the Splendor of Beauty
by Dr. Mitchell Kalkpakgian | Everywhere your look, you see the beauty of the universe made of blent hues from the sky...
Read More »Your Legacy: Living Life to the Utmost
by Dr Mitchell Kalpakgian | The habit of wastefulness does not stop with extravagant spending, as human beings are guilty of wasting many other valuable resources.
Read More »The Life-Giving Music of the Spoken Word
by Dr Mitchell Kalpakgian | A strange happening of modernity is the declining use of the human voice, the human word, as more communication occurs by e-mail, voice mail, and texting.
Read More »Lent: A Way of Looking Within and Beyond the Soul
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | The routine of life forces man to think of today’s basic needs, tomorrow’s debts, next week’s social events, and next month’s travel plans. But in Lent...
Read More »The Problem with Being Too Busy
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | In “The Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales Chaucer introduces the Man of Law, one of the characters on the pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Beckett, with these famous lines: “No one in England matched his bustling about,/ But still, he wasn’t so busy as he always made out.”
Read More »How Screwtape Keeps us Distracted from the Present Moment
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | The business of devils, explains Screwtape, involves diverting human minds from the present and the eternal by leading them into the past and the future.
Read More »The Wheel of Fortune: 4 Ways Man Deals with Good and Bad Luck
Throughout the Middle Ages artists and poets allude often to the goddess Fortuna or the Wheel of Fortune—the ever changing nature of human events that affect all human beings. This ...
Read More »Why We Need to Play More!
In the course of a year, all persons are aware of the weekdays and the weekends, of work days and national holidays like Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Labor Day and ...
Read More »Toys & Tributes: Why the Old & Young Need Each Other
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | In the story an old home that dates from several hundred years ago lies in a state of neglect and in need of repair.
Read More »Lost or Dissatisfied? Why Our Souls are Always Inspired to Seek and Find
Man by nature is a finder in search of many things. Some of these things have been lost and need to be recovered, like the lost sheep the good shepherd ...
Read More »Why We Love the 4 Transcendentals… Without Even Knowing It
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | Why is there always another poem or song waiting to be written, another story or novel ready to be composed, or another masterpiece of music or art expected to be created?
Read More »Constant Distractions: How They Destroy Our Mental Clarity
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | An active human life with its responsibilities naturally has its share of distractions and interruptions. Good work, however, always requires concentration and attention from beginning to end with no or few disruptions.
Read More »St. Monica’s Wisdom: How to Be a Peacemaker and Stop Gossip
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | In the 'Confessions', Augustine describes his devout mother as the confidante of many women because her sense of charity precluded gossip...
Read More »The ‘Still Point’: Cultivating Silence in a Numbing Inundation of Noise
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | The inundation of noise does not allow for reflection, recollection, contemplation, or an examination of conscience—all forms of thought that require silence...
Read More »My 5 Rule Litmus Test to Define a Great Book
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | The noble purpose of great and good literature: to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.
Read More »The Foolish Magi: Silly Gifts, Serious Sacrifices & True Love
This famous short story that often appears in Christmas anthologies perfectly captures the Christian ideal of the joy of giving and the virtue of poverty of spirit. A young husband ...
Read More »Twisted or Simple? G.K. Chesterton’s Litmus Test for Knowing Good or Evil
by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian | In G.K. Chesterton’s “The Wrong Shape,” Father Brown makes a curious observation that puzzles Flambeau, another master detective like the priest.
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