Work as an Idol
Of all the subtle forms of idolatry, this may be the most difficult to detect, analyse or even comprehend, because human beings are naturally working creatures. Through work, we express our creativity, exercise responsibility and transform the world around us. Work enables us to provide for those we love and to pursue the dreams that […]
The Cameroonian Priest and the Trinitarian Temptation: Fame, Wealth, Women
Every temptation that humans face falls into three categories: the flesh (lust and gluttony), the mind (pride and envy), and the idolatrous love of things (greed). The intensity of these temptations varies throughout life. In youth, one is most often tempted against purity, inclined to the sins of the flesh. In middle age, the temptations […]
Beauty and the Priest
One of the most influential novels of the past two centuries is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. In that novel, there is an intriguing exchange between Ippolit, a terminally ill and deeply cynical character, and Prince Myshkin, a man of deep goodness and saintly innocence. Ippolit mockingly asks: “Is it true, Prince, that you once said, […]
Benedict XVI as I Saw Him: Reflections on the Life of a Baobab of Faith from a Simple African Priest
I woke up on the morning of the 31st of December 2022 in good cheers. After all, it was the last day of the year, and I was excited and hopeful about the New year. Still, I had a very heavy heart. A day or two before, Pele the great soccer player had just passed […]
Father Denis: The Christian God and Culture in Africa, Part 2
Continued from Part 1 Many have thought, and I believe falsely so, that Christianity is foreign and radically opposed to African culture. With a lot of shortsightedness, they claim Christianity is a European affair, their way of relating with the divine. Thus, for them Christianity is just one option among a myriad, an option which […]