Much of what George Orwell describes in his futuristic novel, 1984, comes right out of the playbook of Communist and totalitarian states of the twentieth century. He went further, however, in his fictitious regime’s attempt to control the mind of its citizens through constant digital surveillance and the omnipresence of media.  His account chill...

A bumper sticker shared with me the other day that “A closed mind is a wonderful thing to lose.” This shouldn’t be an unfamiliar idea for any of us: “open-mindedness” has become the chief virtue of the modern age. Whereas the ancient philosophers identified prudence as the “charioteer of the virtues” – that skill by which a man woul...

Men love action. We love to do. We strive to complete, to accomplish, to finish the task set before us. Chopping wood, raising our children, planting a garden, finishing a good book, or any multitude of other worthwhile activities are the pursuits which nurture the goodness and holiness of a Catholic man. This innate “call to action” is part of...