The Dispatch
Round Yon Virgin!
I still have the Nativity creche that I grew up with in my boyhood home. It’s older than I am. From my parent’s home to mine, it has enjoyed a place in the living room […]
Articles by Dale Ahlquist
The Dispatch
The Chesterton Option
Editor’s note: The following post is an excerpt from the commencement address given by Dale Ahlquist at Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts, on Saturday, May 20, 2017. It is reposted today to mark […]
The Dispatch
The Catholic Origins of Thanksgiving
Myths about the pilgrims and religious freedom have obscured some surprising truths about this great American holiday. […]
Essay
The Harrowing of Hell in the light of Easter
We are still in the Easter Octave so it’s not too late to talk about something we often forgot to think about during the Triduum: The Harrowing of Hell. But, before we talk about the […]
The Dispatch
G.K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, and the Joy of Christmas
Why a radio broadcast from Christmas Day in 1931 still rings with the wonder of “this season of enjoyment.” […]
The Dispatch
Suffering Advent
The secular world calls it the Holiday Season. The Catholic Church calls it Advent. The two are starkly different, but the one thing they have […]
Essay
The 100th anniversary of Chesterton’s conversion—and its ripple effect
When G.K. Chesterton was received into the Catholic Church one hundred years ago, on Sunday, July 30, 1922, it was big news. Except it wasn’t. It didn’t quite qualify as “news” because nobody knew about […]
The Dispatch
The Incarnation and the Resurrection
In his incomparable book on St. Thomas Aquinas, G.K. Chesterton shows that the Angelic Doctor not only argued for the reality of the Incarnation, but also wanted to show the implications of the Incarnation. The […]
Books
How Saints Die is edifying and challenging Lenten reading
I know you are looking for good Lenten reading. I’ve got a great recommendation. How Saints Die: 100 Stories of Hope by Fr. Antonio Maria Sicari (Ignatius, 2021). Okay, I had the same reaction you […]
Essay
On The Winter Feast
Have you ever heard the smug criticism that Christmas is really a Pagan festival? While it is usually uttered with the air of being a devastating dismissal of Christianity, I’m not sure what actual point […]