Posts by G K Zachary
The Hard Tyranny of Raised Expectations
It can feel at times that we live in a tyrannical kingdom. But, if I am to be honest with myself, I also encounter in more sobering moments, a fleeting epiphany, that the ruler and sole inhabitants of that kingdom are I, me, and myself. It reminds me of the image, from Dante’s inferno, of…
Read MoreA Holy Telos
Last Sunday we were at lunch with a group of singles, married couples, and widows. Some Catholic, others exploring Christianity for the first time. Some married within the (Catholic) faith, others outside it. Given the presence of a bachelor in our company, the discussion soon turned to marriage; in particular, whether it was alright to…
Read MoreThe Simulacrum
I first heard the term, Simulacrum, in a 2007 sermon by Fr. Cantalamessa quoting Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard defined Simulacrum as a “copy that no longer has an original”. Baudrillard states that, “it has now become difficult to distinguish real events, such as the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Gulf War — from their media portrayal”.…
Read MoreBeing There
In the 1979 movie, Being There, Peter Sellers plays Chance the Gardener. Chance has spent his life living and working in the estate of a wealthy old man. Located in the center of power of the free world, Washington D.C. Chance’s only education is what he has seen on TV. On the old man’s passing,…
Read More“My Lord and My God!”
On the first day of swim camp, a 9-year-old boy stood with his buddies on the edge of the shallow end of the pool. You could cut the excited air with a knife as the boys awaited their first lesson. Two hours later it was generally agreed that the swim lessons had gone off, er,…
Read MoreRight Relationship
The antagonist in Tobit, one of my favorite go-to books of the Old Testament, is the demon Asmodeus, the personification of lust. Tobit’s son, Tobiah, marries Sarah, knowing that Asmodeus had killed her seven previous husbands, on their wedding night. Assisted by Archangel Raphael, Tobiah drives Asmodeus away, outlives the night, ends the “curse” on…
Read MoreLike Father, Like Son
Growing up, like most other teenagers, I’ve indulged in my share of rebellion. What kept me from devolving into outright malicious delinquency was the firm hand of my father, combined with a filial fear of swift retribution, a self-imposed limit to not disappoint him any more. On reflection from years later, was also an unspoken…
Read MoreThe Potter and His Clay
On a visit to the local fair, as a young child, I recall watching a potter at his wheel. I watched this intimate relationship between the potter’s hands and what began as a lump of clay, as he gently moulded and shaped it, applying pressure from the inside, sometimes from the outside, sometimes upward, bending…
Read MoreCancel Jeremiah!
There is one thing that I am certain about. It is that I wish to fly the Catholic flag. It is the one sure path to life in eternity in the presence of my Lord. It is the one true rock that will prevail against the gates of the netherworld (Mt 16:18). It is my…
Read MoreThe Dichotomous Coin
While I know that the divine economy of salvation uses as its currency a dichotomous (2 sided) coin of love and discipline (Heb 12:6), nevertheless, I have always had trouble with the notion of having to carry my cross (Mt 16:24). The problem is not so much the cross itself, but my reaction to it;…
Read More