John Paul II, James Joyce, St. Philip Neri, and the Weakness of Men

The family and I made our annual multi-week pilgrimage to Michiana, in July. We drove back at the end of the month, and in a hurry, as I had to be rushed into Philadelphia for emergency eye surgery. The prognosis is not bad, thank goodness, at this hour, two weeks out from what seemed a total catastrophe. But it is not especially bright, either, and so reminds me both of the frailty of all flesh, as well as the centrality of finding one's treasure in a place that can endure forever (and there is only one such place).

As the headline here suggests, much good has happened alongside all the bad, and I'm pleased to share what I can with you.

Below, I gather four recent items: my latest column for The Catholic Thing, on Pope John Paul II's poetry; my latest column for the "Notes on Form" series for Forma magazine, "Joyce's Tetrameters"; and, finally, two new poems of mine, "The Weakness of Men," and "By that Heart Known." Simply click the pictures below to follow the links and read them.

John Paul II's Song of the Earth

The Weakness of Men

Joyce's Pentameters

By that Heart Known: A Hymn for Saint Philip Neri