1945
by Czeslaw Milosz
Feast of the Holy Seven Maccabee Children, Solomone Their Mother, & Eleazar Their Teacher
Anno Domini 2020, August 1
—You! the last Polish poet!—drunk, he embraced me,
My friend from the Avant-Garde, in a long military coat,
Who had lived through the war in Russia and, there, understood.
He could not have learned those things from Apollinaire,
Or Cubist manifestos, or the festivals of Paris streets.
The best cure for illusions is hunger, patience, and obedience.
In their fine capitals they still liked to talk.
Yet the twentieth century went on. It was not they
Who would decide what words were going to mean.
On the steppe, as he was binding his bleeding feet with a rag
He grasped the futile pride of those lofty generations.
As far as he could see, a flat, unredeemed earth.
Gray silence settled over every tribe and people.
After the bells of baroque churches, after a hand on a saber,
After disputes over free will, and arguments of diets.
I blinked, ridiculous and rebellious,
Alone with Jesus Mary against irrefutable power,
A descendant of ardent prayers, of gilded sculptures and miracles.
And I knew I would speak in the language of the vanquished
No more durable than old customs, family rituals,
Christmas tinsel, and once a year the hilarity of carols.
Berkeley, 1985
*From New and Collected Poems: 1931-2001
(New York: Ecco, 1988), p. 490. Available for purchase at Eighth Day Books.
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The Sisters of Sophia will gather on the Commemoration of the Great Martyr Theodore, Anno Domini 2026, February 17. Rachel Garton will present The Battlefield of Compassion: Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, and St Verena . Sisters of Sophia When Every third Tuesday Where The Ladder 2836 E Douglas, Wichita Parking available behind Eighth Day Books Schedule Food, drink, and fellowship at 6:30pm Eighth Day Convocation & Lecture at 7:20pm Membership Required? No, but do consider joining the community! Learn more and join here !
The Hall of Men will gather Thursday evening on the commemoration of St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, Anno Domini 2026, February 12. David Beutel will present on St. John Henry Newman. St. John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest, and after his conversion to Catholicism, became a cardinal. Newman's beatification was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 during his visit to the United Kingdom. His canonization was officially approved by Pope Francis on 12 February 2019, and took place on 13 October 2019. Come and jo in us for the first toast of 2026 at the Hall of Men! If you haven’t seen a Catholic listen to the life story of John Wesley; if you haven’t watched a Protestant learn about Evagrius of Pontus; and if you haven’t seen Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant men sit around a table together and talk theology until midnight . . . then you need to come to the Hall of Men. When The commemoration of St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, Anno Domini 2026, February 12. Where The Ladder at 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67214 Schedule Doors Open at 7 pm Food is served at 7:30pm Eighth Day Convocation at 8:30pm Presentation and toast by Derek Hale immediately following Convocation. Membership Required? No, but do consider joining the community! Learn more and join today here .
Reflections on the enduring validity of Malcolm Muggeridge's critiques of the media in the 1970s.
An Introduction to Charles Williams by Charles Hefling Commemoration of St Hosea the Prophet Anno Domini 2025, October 17
Commemoration of St Longinus the Centurion Anno Domini 2025, October 16
by Charles Williams Commemoration of St Lucian the Martyr of Antioch Anno Domini 2025, October 15
An Introduction to Charles Williams by Charles Hefling Commemoration of St Cosmas the Hagiopolite Anno Domini 2025, October 14
by C. S. Lewis Commemoration of the Holy Prophet Zacharias, Father of St. John the Forerunner Anno Domini 2025, September 5
by Jason M. Baxter Commemoration of St Lucian the Martyr of Antioch Anno Domini 2024, October 15
by Pseudo-Dionysios Commemoration of St Malachi the Prophet Anno Domini 2024, January 3