Public shaming, scolding, and snitching aren’t punishable by law, but everyone knows betraying a friend is a dastardly moral crime.
Or everyone used to.
In this culture where calling out “friends” is actually lauded, in this week’s Angelus column I ponder the nobility of the martyrs who went the other way and died under torture.
In other news, I’ll be driving to LA on Monday. Pray for me!
iI’m reading an incredibly deeply-researched and well-written biog of Alexander Calder by Jed Perl. Last time i was in NYC, I made a special pilgrimaget to the Whitney to see Calder’s Circus.
Also reading (on Internet Archive) The Farm on the River of Emeralds, by Moritz Thomsen, the under-known author of several fascinating books. Thomsen came from Pacific Northwest money, struggled his whole to transcend the barriers of class and race, jointed the Peace Corps, and ended up staying–living and eventually dying–in Ecuador, mostly among the poorest of the poor. He has no illusions and his heart was broken by the man he considered his best friend.
My new Writing Workshop starts today: very excited to meet these writers, most of whom are new to me.
“Store up your treasure in heaven,” says Christ in this week’s Gospel. And yet, incarnate bodies, we live and interact with others on earth. How to do that with authentic love, even when threatened, frightened, anxious, challenged, all the while trying to foster peace in our hearts?
Check out my Substack as well: DESIRE LINES: Books, Culture, Art.
And Happy Summer Solstice.
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