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What is Love?
by Peter Kreeft, Ph.D.
It has been said that “love is a many-splendored thing,” and this is true. Yet what exactly is love? The definition of “love” can be quite elusive. Is it happiness, affection, charity, desire, friendship? A regular contributor to Envoy, philosopher Peter Kreeft considers what love really is (and what it’s really not) showing why what many people commonly think of as love falls short of the shining reality of this great gift of God to human beings. In a world awash with insipid slogans like “love is a flower” and “love is a battlefield,” we think you’ll find Dr. Kreeft’s explanations particularly invaluable. And how’s this for “value added”? You follow up by giving a copy of this issue of Envoy to someone you love.
A Gift From My Father
by Melissa Guerrero
In this touching, true-life story of a Southern California Hispanic family’s long and winding road back to the Catholic Faith, Melissa Guerrero chronicles her experiences and how her father’s cancer played a major role in the drama. A candid, deeply personal account of her family’s struggles with adversity, she helps us gain a clearer understanding and a deeper appreciation of the amazing healing power of suffering. But this is not really a story about suffering itself. Rather, it reveals how, with the help of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints (including nurses, and a kind priest), Melissa and her father came to understand each other’s deepest, unspoken hopes and desires. Make sure your Kleenex box is at hand for this one.
A Young Girl’s Discovery of the Beauty of Modesty
by Emily Pass
The title says it all: contrary to popular belief and modern fashion mores, modesty is beautiful. College student Emily Pass describes her growing awareness of the mystery and holiness of a woman’s body and the real reasons that good young men are — surprise! — deeply attracted to young women who dress modestly. This may come as a shock to most women, who have never really considered what men are thinking when they view a woman’s attire. Two other young women weigh in on this important issue with their own thoughts about why modesty is far, far more attractive than most people realize.
Lifting the Veil
by Tess Almendarez Lojacono
Everyone sees something different when they look through a window. For some, it’s how dirty the glass is, for others, what lies on the other side. And sometimes mothers feel like robots, with a to-do list that never ends. Who has time to think of love? In this luminous piece of fiction, two ordinary women with ordinary busy lives discuss what they see when they look through the windows one of them is cleaning. Surprises await.
The Problem With Vampires
by Millicent Fairweather
56 There’s a huge cultural obsession with vampires these days — best-selling books, popular movies, and prime-time TV shows relentlessly stoke the fantasies of millions of young women and teenage girls with a swooning infatuation for hunky, brooding, bad-boys who just happen to be a little long in the tooth. This is a worrisome trend, one that portends no good for those who’ve become obsessed with all things vampire. The hugely popular Twilight vampire saga has effortlessly penetrated the defenses with which even the most vigilant parents have tried to guard their children. Millicent Fairweather, a keen observer of culture and a Catholic mother of several teen and “tween” daughters, explains why parents must recognize the subtle dangers entailed in this spooky fang-fad and how they can take steps to “vampire-proof” their daughters’ hearts.