Brief comments on two of last semester’s articles
by Alice von Hildebrand
Anthony Dragani deserves to be commended for his article, “A growing thirst for the traditional liturgy,” in Concourse Vol. IV, issue 6. He has highlighted admirably the danger of chronolatry (a word coinded by Jacques Maritain). It is a great illusion to believe that man’s spiritual horizon can be limited to the historical period in which we happen to live. Hand in hand with this, Mr. Dragani has discovered what Plato calls “the golden cord of tradition” and how enriching it is to draw upon its treasures. Whether past or present, let us test all things, and keep what is good.
Concerning Ms. Bratten’s article on the student who was expelled from Thomas Aquinas College for violating its policy against sleeping off campus without permission, it is clear that the young woman was attending the wrong college. If one joins an institution, one tacitly accepts its rules and regulations. Ms. Bratten refers to college students as “adults.” Does she mean “entitled to vote,” or is she referring to spiritual maturity? The word “adult” is ambiguous. Alas, life teaches one that “wisdom does not grow with wisdom teeth” (as Kierkegaard put it). Old people can be very immature while a St. Therese of Lisieux was fully mature at fifteen.
As educators, the TAC administrators know that the safest way to avoid sin is not to expose oneself to temptations. That was the golden rule of St. John Bosco’s educational system. All of us can humbly acknowledge that there are sins we have not committed because through the wisdom of our educators or through God’s grace, we have not been exposed to temptations. Those who come very close to the fire should not lament when they are burnt.
Alice von Hildebrand
