Chesterton Quotations

"If there were no God, there would be no atheists."

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."

“Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.”

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”


“Tolerance is the virtue of people who do not believe in anything.”

“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.”

“Take away the supernatural and what remains is the unnatural.”

“Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God.”

“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”

“Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.”

“Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.”

“The unpardonable sin is being bored.”

“These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own.”

“You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion.”

Pax et bonum

Reading Romances - Male Authors

As I continue my research into Christian Romance Novels with the thought of trying my hand at one, I checked my local library to see if it carried any of the books by a Christians Romance Novelist who happens to be a member of my parish, Ruth Logan Herne. The name, by the way is her pen name.

I had actually read ac couple of her books before. She had given away free copies at our parish, and my wife had taken some.

The library had only two books by her - even though she has written some 45 books.

I took the two out. They were for a series about a ranch. There are only two books in the series - and I don't know if she planned to write more. As far as I can tell, she stopped publishing back in 2022. I need to ask her if she has stopped writing romances.

Anyway, I read the first book, Back in the Saddle.

I don't mean this as an insult, but it is a typical romance novel. It is set on a ranch. A young man returns home from his corporate job in the big city and gradually rediscovers family and faith. On the ranch there is a young woman who made a mistake in her past, but has found faith, and fled her big city job for the small-town life. There are all sorts of complications; the ranch and the small town are threatened. She is tempted to return to her city life, he is tempted to return to his big city life - both have offers to do so - but, of course, they choose to remain with each other. 

Given that the book is a romance, I won't review it as if it is great literature. 

But I had problems in that it is clearly written from a female point-of-view. I can see that it would appeal to women, but as a guy, I found it difficult. Oh, I finished it and could appreciate it as a decent example of light literature, with romantic and Christian underpinnings, but I didn't feel compelled to read the second book.

At that point I wondered if there are any men who write Christians Romance Novels. I was curious to find out if I would find them easier to read as they write from a male perspective. Hopefully they would not be like the Jack Nicholson character in As Good As It Gets. 

(Receptionist: How do you write women so well?
Melvin Udall: I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.)

I discovered there were several. They tended to write historical novels with romantic elements. I checked our local library; it carries the books of only one of them, Gilbert Morris.

I went to the library and found a whole shelf of his books, many of them part of a series about "The House of Winslow", tracing the Winslow family through the centuries. I took out three of the books set in the Civil War, - Books 8-10. The Civil War is a period that interests me. Two of my plays are set during the war, and one of them, The Beau Ideal, I had performed as a one-man-show, and was later performed by our local professional theater. And I was thinking of setting a book during the war - perhaps as a mystery, or maybe as a romance.

I am not done with the first book, The Last Confederate, but I am enjoying it. The male perspective is easier for me to relate to, and the historical elements appeal to me as a Civil War buff and former history teacher.

I'll finish the book and likely go on to the second. For pleasure - and for research for my own writing.

Pax et bonum

A Follow-up to the Romance Movies

I've been enjoying the Christian romance movies - especially the Christmas ones. They are light, fluff, but with an underlying moral and positive message. 

Which got me to wondering about Christian romance books.

The modern ones are a little too contemporary for me, but there is a whole subgenre of Christian historical romances. I might check some of them out. And there are some male authors who tend to specialize in historical Christian novels and romance novels. I need to check them out as well.

Might I try my hand at writing come? Hmmm. We have a Christian romance novelist at our parish. I just might have a chat with her at some point.

Meanwhile, I did a little work on my Santa book. 

Pax et bonum

Great American Christmas: Small Town Values

In my previous post I talked about the Great American Family Channel's Christmas Romance movies.

One aspect of those movies is that they are almost always set in small towns. These movies - and some other romances I've read (one of our parishioners writes Christian romance books) - celebrate small-town values, often putting them in direct contrast with big-city values (or lack thereof).

In the movies, the central character is either from a small town and returns there or never left, or is sent to a small town for some reason.  

Among the typical plot elements: The family farm/inn/business/store is in trouble, or someone dies, and the main character is struggling to keep it going, or eventually decides to keep it going; or the main character is sent to the small town to help buy up/shut down the involved venue to make way for development, such as building condos or a resort.

That's where the small-town values come into play.

The people know each other. They rally to help each other. They are concerned with family and faith, not profits or supposed progress. Community and church are important. They cherish small, family-owned businesses/operations/farms, etc. The natural world is respected.

In contrast, the big-city values focus on profits, development, merchandising, large-scale operations, and so on. Family and faith are downplayed, even mocked. Nature is to be exploited.

Although it is not a Great American movie, John Denver's The Christmas Gift, provides an example.

Denver plays an architect working for a corporation. He is a widower with a small daughter. He is ordered at Christmas time to visit a small mountain community to scope it out for development.

The town features a quirky cabbie who loves Christmas, a young postmistress (the romantic interest), a struggling family farm, and a day dedicated to mailing letters to Santa. Indeed, one of the initial conflicts is when Denver wants to mail a letter to his boss, but because it is Santa letter day the postmistress refuses.

After they arrive, the daughter becomes involved in a Christmas pageant at the church and befriends the son of the farmer who is in danger of losing his farm to Denver's boss, who, of course wants to build a big development on it, promising jobs and profits for the community.

Meanwhile, in getting to know the people of the town, Denver begins to have doubts about his boss's plans, and finally openly opposes them. He is fired. But the town rallies around the farm family, the pageant is a success, and Denver finds love and a new home in the town.

The movie would be perfect for the Great American Family channel!

Small-town values are appealing. And being a Chestertonian, I find they fit in with Chesterton's ideas. Small, family-owned businesses. Faith. A sense of community. People supporting each other. 

We need more of this.

Pax et bonum

Great American Family Christmas Romances

I'm a big fan of Christmas - that's a given what with my seasonal job. (Ho. Ho. Ho.)

I'm also a fan of Christmas movies. The classics, that is; most modern Christmas movies have issues, and I can't endorse them and rarely enjoy them.

But there is a subgenre of contemporary Christmas movies that I have to admit I sometimes enjoy.

The Great American Family Channel's Christmas romance movies.

Romances? Well, with a Christmas spin, sure.

Given the fare on most other channels, these are often the most tolerable offerings. I get sick of the morally questionable programming of those other channels, and the endless talking heads, so unless there's a good classic movie on, I either turn off the television and listen to music, or I switch to Great American for their Christmas movies.

Since it's July, the channel has been offering Christmas in July - back-to-back Christmas movies.

Like most romances, the movies tend to have similar premises, tropes, and characters.

Most often there is a young woman, in her 20's or 30's.

The movies frequently involve a small town. Either the woman is from there, or is thinking of living there, or has been sent there on some mission. One of the variations is the woman has to travel to another land - Scotland is quite popular, involving a castle or family estate.

In the small town there is a manly man - sometimes an ex-romantic interest.

In the small town there is also often some business or institution that is in some kind of danger - a farm, an inn, a bakery, a restaurant, the annual Christmas fair or pageant. The woman is frequently called upon to help save the situation, especially as it often involves family members.

Another common plot element is that some outside developer or corporation is threatening to buy up or tear down some beloved institution. Sometimes the woman is a representative of that outside interest sent to scope out the situation, but then, after discovering the nature of the small town or meeting the manly man, begins to have doubts.

In terms of doubts, the young woman sometimes has a romantic relationship which she is seeking to escape or about which she it trying to discover her true feelings. 

And a number of them involve a prince or princess, sometimes keeping his/her true identity a secret.

By the end, the young woman ends up with the manly man and decides to move to. return to, remain in the small town.

A few other common elements I observe. If the manly man is a prince, he will almost always have to wear the standard prince costume at some point. Indeed, they seem to recycle the costume in movie after movie.

The manly man sometimes has a slightly scruffy look, as if he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. Or even has a neat beard. Maybe the facial hair is proof of testosterone? 

All the homes and towns sport elaborate Christmas decorations. Even the bachelor pads are decorated. 

I've also noticed that while the movies are set at Christmas, the snow is almost always fake, and the actors, while supposedly outside in the cold, breathe without their breaths showing. I recently saw one of the movies where the snow was real, and you could see the breaths of the actors. it was a surprise.

Oh, there are variations. Occasionally it's a man who left town returning to find his old flame still there. Some of the movies involve a quest of some sort. or brings in a fantasy element, such as time travel.

The movies are not great art. And there are some silliness to them. But they are better than many of the alternatives. They are entertaining.

They also remind me of an old John Denver Christmas movie - The Christmas Gift. Many of the plot elements are the same. It's a fun movie we watch every year.

The network is Christian and family-oriented one. The characters are all basically moral. There is no sex or suggestion of sex. No one smokes cigarettes. No one reveals visible tattoos. There is no swearing. Many of the movies involve prayers or set some of the action in a church. 

There's a reason the very-Christian Candace Cameron Bure quit Hallmark - which was starting to stray into less moral and decidedly unchristian waters Great American and become not only an actor there, but to become the chief content officer there.

I am glad the channel exists, and I enjoy many of their movies. It's nice that there is moral fare on television. 

Their movies make me feel like saying, "Merry Christmas"

Pax et bonum

I want to be in that number

I recently attended a funeral for a 92-year-old woman. I did not know her personally; she was the mother of one of the members of our Secular Franciscan Fraternity. The only time I ever met her was last year when I attended the funeral of her husband.

As I listened to people talking about her I got a clearer picture of who she was. She had been a nurse, but when she married she devoted herself to her family, which eventually included four children. She was noted for her humor and her faith.

Over the years, she sadly saw two of her children die before her, and last year, her husband. She also battled cancer. Yet apparently, she remained cheerful and a source of strength to others.

Sound like a saint.

The thing is, she may indeed be in Heaven either now or soon and thus would be a saint. But she will not be recognized "officially" as a saint.

There are several people who may be canonized soon, Blessed Solanus Casey. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I've heard a cause has begun for Sigrid Undset.

But they have orders or fans or governments backing their causes. I'm not saying they don't deserve to be canonized, but the 92-year-old mother has no such backers.

Nor is she alone. 

There are so many good and holy people I've met in my life. They may now be saints in Heaven, but they don't have the fame or the backing on earth to promote their canonization causes.

I'm glad we have generic mention of the saints in Heaven, asking them to pray for us.

As for all those uncanonized saints, they are enjoying the Beatific Vision and likely don't care about official recognition here on earth.

I pray some day i might be worthy to join them.

Pax et bonum

Some Outsider Art of Mine

Pax et bonum