El Filósofo

Notes from a Zenned-Out Catholic

Blog

  • Socrates, Jesus, and Truth

    The first philosopher I fell in love with was Plato. In my undergrad, I took a number of courses about him and read a variety of his works. (I still haven’t read everything.) At first, I would have probably thought myself something of a Platonist, but as I furthered my studies, that changed. There are… Keep reading

  • The Four Last Things: Hell / The Fatal Vanity of Dorian Gray

    Advent is not simply only a time to reflect on the birth of Our Lord, the Word made Flesh, but also a time to reflect on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Hell, and Heaven. Over these four weeks of Advent, join me as I follow along with meditations of St Francis de Sales, as… Keep reading

  • Neustra Señora de Guadalupe

    Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I thought I’d share my thoughts because it is a miracle that has particular significance to me. It’s not that I’m Mexican or have any attachment to the area: rather, these Marian apparitions were the first miracle of private revelation that was explained to… Keep reading

  • In No Strange Land (A Review)

    For some time now, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of the Oratory. I’d heard the word pop up in various readings about the lives of the Saints, such as John Bosco, John Henry Newman, and Frère André Bessette. It was only when I visited the Toronto Oratory that my curiosity was piqued, and I… Keep reading

  • The Four Last Things: Judgement

    Advent is not simply only a time to reflect on the birth of Our Lord, the Word made Flesh, but also a time to reflect on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. Over these four weeks of Advent, join me as I follow along with meditations of St Francis de Sales, as… Keep reading

  • Good Reason (III)

    Continued from The Ouroboros & Philosophy (I) & Reason Enough (II) What good reasons did I have for accepting Christianity in the first place? Of course, I have more than one reason, but I’ll start with this: Christianity is the faith of many martyrs. A Faith of Martyrs What initially piqued my interest in Christianity was… Keep reading

  • The Four Last Things: Death

    Advent, as I alluded to earlier this week, is not simply a time for celebrating the mystery of Christ’s first coming in the Incarnation. It is also a time to reflect on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. As luck would have it, one of my favourite saints, St Francis de Sales,… Keep reading

  • It’s beginning to look a lot like… Advent!

    Today marks the first Sunday of the liturgical year: that is, the first Sunday of the season of Advent. Over the last month, we have heard countless readings from the book as Revelation. This is more than mere coincidence. The Latin word for “Advent” (adventus) means “coming”, so as we prepare the celebrate the first… Keep reading

  • Faith of Our Fathers (A Review)

    I’ve always been proud of my English heritage. So much so that when I began to consider converting to Catholicism, I felt uneasy. After all, English history this past half of a millennium has been littered with anti-Catholicism. To be Catholic, I felt, is to be very un-English. Moreover, many well-revered “heroes” of English history… Keep reading

  • “To every thing there is a season”

    Yesterday I attended the Archdiocese of Toronto’s 2022 Renew conference for young adults. This was my first experience with one of these catholic young adult conferences, and I was not disappointed. My day was filled by great encounters and listening to insightful speakers. I had a wonderful time!(On top of everything else, I also got… Keep reading