An update of sorts on the Ken Howell situation. If you haven’t sent your email yet, please do.

Today the Aquilinas mark twenty-five years of wedded bliss. What did the Fathers have to say about this “silver anniversary” stuff? Here’s Leo the Great:

In a great house, as the Apostle explains, there must needs be various vessels, some of gold and of silver, and some of wood and of earth: but their purpose varies with the quality of their material, and the use of the precious and of the cheap kinds is not the same. For everything will be in disorder if the earthen ware be preferred to the golden, or the wooden to the silver. And as the wooden or earthen vessels are a figure of those men who are hitherto conspicuous for no virtues; so in the golden or silver vessels they no doubt are represented who, having passed through the fire of long experience, and through the furnace of protracted toil have deserved to be tried gold and pure silver.

My wife, Terri, has taken to the refinement rather well — well enough for both of us, I hope. She’s the purest of silver, by Leo’s standard or anybody’s, and should attain golden well in advance of our fiftieth.

I remember my dad (God rest his soul) telling my niece Melissa that he hoped to sneak into heaven by hiding behind his wife. Melissa responded that, unless he lost a lot of weight, he wasn’t gonna be hiding behind anybody.

I’d better get in shape.

I’ve mentioned Ken Howell to you before. He’s gradually bringing out a new edition of the Apostolic Fathers. Apparently the University of Illinois has fired him for actually believing what the Apostolic Fathers believed.

Don’t know about you, but when I was attending a big state university I had all manner of moral and spiritual notions peddled to me as Truth. Not only in the soft spots, like the humanities, but in physics and math as well. For some reason, especially in physics and math. My son and his contemporaries seem to endure the same sort of instruction today. Back in 1985 we rolled our eyes, knowing it’s the price we pay for academic freedom.

But apparently there are limits to academic freedom, and Ken strayed beyond them. Say a prayer for him and his family. Buy his book. And if you’re in a position to do something about the situation, please do.

UPDATE: In the comment box, author and patrologist Carl Sommer suggests something you might do.

The Apostle Thomas is a figure of fascination for both believers and doubters. For me, he’s an object of obsession. I’m especially fascinated by the traditions of his work in India — preserved in epic poems, family stories, and (of course) the testimonies of the Fathers.

At long last, I’m bringing out a book on the subject: A Doubters Novena: Nine Steps to Trust With the Apostle Thomas, co-authored with my friend Christopher Bailey. It’s due out in a few weeks, but Amazon lets you pre-order now.

While you’re waiting for the book to arrive, you can celebrate the feast of St. Thomas by reading these posts:

Without a Doubt

Hindu Traditions of St. Thomas

Spice and Spirit

Friends, Romans, Christians … in Ancient India?

This could be very interesting. While building a stadium, Macedonians found third-century necropolises, quite possible Christian. Just a few hints here.

If you’ve listened to the interviews on my audio page, you know the voice of Kris McGregor. She and her husband, Bruce, have interviewed me numberless times, on every subject under the patristic sun.

Well, now she’s blogging. Go visit Kris and say a big hello.

The Catholic Lady has put up a page of brief reviews titled “Thank You, Mike Aquilina.” If circumstances were different, I’d suspect my mother. Hmmmm.

BMCR reviews Marc Mastrangelo’s The Roman Self in Late Antiquity: Prudentius and the Poetics of the Soul. According to the review, Mastrangelo argues that “Prudentius has never been given his due” and that lack of recognition for Christian poets in general goes back to Eusebius, whose Church History excludes poets. (Unappreciated. Alas.)

Also at BMCR, we get acquainted with Becoming Byzantine: Children and Childhood in Byzantium, edited by Arietta Papaconstantinou and Alice-Mary Talbot. There have been several fascinating titles on childhood in antiquity; and readers of this blog seem to harbor a special interest in the subject. I’ve posted on it here and here.

I know that some of you have been waiting to hear a report on the pilgrimage to Rome. At first I was waiting till other pilgrims posted photos, but now I discover that Facebook has changed the dynamic a bit. I’m not on Facebook, so I’ll share this shot with you. How was my time in Rome? How could it be anything but wonderful when I spent my days with these two bright and lovely young women (my daughters)?

It was a much richer pilgrimage with art historian Liz Lev as our guide. It was my seventh trip to the Eternal City, but with Liz’s guidance I felt as if I saw the ancient city for the first time.

Happy Feast of Saints Peter and Paul to everyone. Remember: no one in Rome works today.

And apparently that’s a favored straight line for Italian comedians.

These are boom times for Christian archeology. While I was writhing with kidney stones last week, I could still enjoy the news of the discovery of the earliest images of the apostles. I thought Catholic News Service’s account was fascinating (here with a postscript here). You’ll find other details and photos, though, in the Daily Mail, CNN, and the BBC.

In related news: CNS posted another neat piece on archeology in Rome. And Bulgarian archeologists think they’re closing in on one of Constantine’s palaces.

I gave an interview to an outfit called Catholic Free Shipping. You can read it here.

My friend Karl Schultz has entered the blogosphere! Karl is the author of How to Pray With the Bible: The Ancient Prayer Form of Lectio Divina Made Simple, The How-to Book of the Bible: Everything You Need to Know But No One Ever Taught You, and many other books. I’ve reviewed them here and in Touchstone Magazine.

Please drop in and welcome Karl.

You’ve probably already seen coverage of the discovery of a Roman Era mass grave for unwanted newborns. Roger Pearse has posted a stunning reflection on the “casual evil” of Roman life. You must read it.

It’s not the first such discovery. You’ll find the story of Ashkelon’s sewer clogged with newborns here.

I hope you’ve read Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity, which treats this subject in chilling detail.

The archeologists seem sure that the recent find must have been associated with a brothel. But I’ve seen no evidence to lead to that conclusion. Why pass off on the prostitutes what was acceptable in polite company?

My friend Ian Murphy teaches theology at Duquesne University and religious studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Now comes the news that he’s taking his talents to a bigger classroom. “An Evening with Ian” will run on radio Saturday evenings 7-8 p.m. through the summer. The debut is tomorrow, Saturday, June 5. The show broadcasts on WMUG 105.1 FM out of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and also online.  If you click on the web link, the page will have a “Listen Online” feature in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.  If you email the show at an.evening.with.ian@gmail.com, you may hear his response during the broadcast.
 
According to the promotional materials, “this time of story-telling and Scripture presents a fresh approach to the Gospel that makes theology accessible to everybody, and with plenty of laughs!”

I have, on occasion, raved about Gary Michuta’s book about the biblical canon, Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger: The Untold Story of the Lost Books of the Protestant Bible. I just got word that Gary’s teaching a high-school class online — and it starts Monday morning. If you know high-schoolers who are into apologetics or biblical studies, please let them know.