Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In
Memoriam A.H.H.

Reverend Paul Scalia: Christ's Contentment with Home

The Holy Family by Raphael, 1483-1520 

A Homily by Reverend Paul Scalia

Pastor, St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

December 27, 2009

King`s College Choir, Cambridge - Away in a Manger

The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case against Scientism

More than a half century ago, famed writer C.S. Lewis warned about how science (a good thing) could be twisted in order to attack religion, undermine ethics, and limit human freedom. In this documentary "The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism," leading scholars explore Lewis's prophetic warnings about the abuse of science and how Lewis's concerns are increasingly relevant for us today.

Canadians are a Hardy Bunch, Eh?

Now Playing on a Campus Near You: De Tocqueville’s “The End of Democracy in America”

It took five centuries before the strychnine of corruption and fatigue finally killed the Roman Empire (né Republic). It’s taken the U.S. about five decades to reach a point where such a suicidal whimper no longer seems unthinkable.

If you want to know why we’re getting there faster, look no further than Professor Jacobson’s important post the other day at College Insurrection about what’s happening at his (undergraduate) alma mater: Western Civilization driven off campus at Hamilton college.

Read the rest of this entry at Legal Insurrection >>

Why the War Party Fears Hagel

By Patrick J. Buchanan 

In the fortnight since Chuck Hagel’s name was floated for secretary of defense, we have witnessed Washington at its worst.

Who is Chuck Hagel?

Born in North Platte, Neb., he was a squad leader in Vietnam, twice wounded, who came home to work in Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign, was twice elected U.S. senator, and is chairman of the Atlantic Council and co-chair of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

Telegraph Writers and Editors Select the Queen as 'Greatest Briton' of the Year

Telegraph writers and editors have chosen 25 notable Britons of 2012 – here are our top 10 – including our Briton of the Year 

 

The Queen not only celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, giving us all a reason to remind ourselves what is best about Britain, but also played a starring role in the opening ceremony of London 2012 Olympics Photo: PA

 

The Queen, Our Greatest Briton
 

When historians look back on 2012, one Briton will define the year’s momentous and joyous events more than any other. The Queen not only celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, giving us all a reason to remind ourselves what is best about Britain, but also played a starring role in the opening ceremony of London 2012. 

Who will ever forget the delicious moment when Her Majesty greeted James Bond at Buckingham Palace, before appearing to parachute out of a helicopter into the Olympic Park? Our Olympians and Paralympians may have given us a month’s worth of unashamed patriotism, but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was the culmination of a lifetime of service to the country. 

At the centre of the celebrations were four remarkable days in June, during which the Queen defied age and the elements to attend the Thames Pageant, the splendidly over-the-top Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace and a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s, followed by a Carriage Procession and Balcony appearance. She had already taken on a daunting schedule of travel at the beginning of the year, as she set out to visit every corner of the United Kingdom, determined that as many of us as possible should see her in her landmark year; and she ended 2012 in the same spirit, shaking off a cold to lead her family to church on Christmas Day. Her Majesty has not only defined a year, but has helped shape an entire era, and for that she is our Greatest Briton. 

Read the rest of this entry at The Telegraph >>