Sometimes an event or affair seems to crystalize the spirit of an age. The Dreyfus affair became a symbol of the soul sickness of pre-World War II Europe.

Big green eyes beamed from her almond-shaped face. Tall, she could command a presence beyond her 24 years.

My sister wanted to conform to the popular crowd. She was already a member of the popular crowd, because of her beauty, but she wanted to purge the part of her life that didn’t fit the image, mostly her family and me.

Beauty, the source of art for the classic aesthetics, has been replaced by an aesthetic of shock. Like a horror movie that uses a popping out hand to scare the audience, the art of shock surprises with outrage in the moment.

If you want a lot of hits, write about pornography. Albert Mohler, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has been posting on the subject.

The great Catholic theologian Henri Nouwen thought birthdays the most important celebration because we celebrate a person for their simple presence among us. We are glad for them, and just for them.