Civilisation – By the Skin of Our Teeth
I came across this truly wonder-ful 13-part series, Civilisation, first filmed in 1969, with Kenneth Clark, one of the world’s foremost art historians of the twentieth century. As he puts it in the very first line of the first episode, quoting the great Victorian artist and art critic Ruskin:
Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts: the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their arts; not one of these books may be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.
I’m not so sure about that, but there is a ring of truth in it, for does not what we love – which we portray in art, signify in some deep way who we are? (Which bodes not well for what passes for art in our own ‘civilisation’).
Focusing on Western art from the ‘Dark Ages’ to the modern era, Clark realizes that there is much left to be said, not least on the art of the East. But what he does say is truly enlightening, and a balm in our own iconoclastic era, mired in mediocrity. Man is capable of great things, and still is so – for what makes civilisation is not any external factor, but rather greatness of will, intellect and energy, and the capacity to impose order on chaos, first in our interior lives, and then upon the world. And this derives first and foremost from Faith, and a belief in the transcendent (which is why atheistic Marxist–Socialist-Communist regimes never have and never will produce any real art – witness kitsch Nazi paintings or the brutal, dehumanizing Stalinesque architecture, nor anything, for that matter, approximating a ‘civilised’ society).
We may not agree with all of Clark’s assessments, but as he put it when he began the series:
I had no clear idea what “civilisation” meant, but thought it was preferable to barbarism, and fancied that this was the moment to say so.
And it is still the moment to say so, as a new barbarism descends upon the world, and we must hold fast – even by the very skin of our teeth – to all that is true, good and beautiful:
https://youtu.be/JxEJn7dWY60
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→
Payette’s Payout
I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→