Tod Worner

Catholicism engages EVERYTHING. Please tune in to my new biweekly Evangelization & Culture Podcast with Word on Fire where we talk with insightful guests about faith & culture, books & ideas, history & politics. A little bit of EVERYTHING. wordonfire.org/videos/evangel…

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. —Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize-winning physicist

This is not a crisis of ability, but a crisis of expectations. If you want to be great, quit complaining & start reading “the best that has been thought and said.” Thanks for the conversation @jennfrey! @WordOnFire #readthegreats

Reading this as we speak…

@lee_trepanier Reading this as we speak…

Please see “Harvey C. Mansfield's Machiavelli's Effectual Truth: Creating the Modern World” in The Political Science Reviewer! politicalsciencereviewer.com/index.php/psr/…

Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating. —Simone Weil

Take away the supernatural, and what remains is the unnatural. —G. K. Chesterton My latest @WordOnFire

It’s striking how he turns a beloved Irish Catholic feast day into an ideological lesson in critical theory. *Sigh*

19 years ago, a high school basketball coach put his team manager into a game for the final four minutes. The kid had never played a single minute of competitive basketball in his life. He scored 20 points. Jason McElwain was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. He didn’t speak until he was five. He couldn’t chew solid food until he was six. He wore a nappy for most of his early childhood. As a baby, he was rigid, wouldn’t make eye contact, and hid in corners away from other children. He tried out for his school basketball team every year and got cut every time. Too small. Too slight. Barely 5’6 and about 54 kilograms. But he loved the game so much that his mum called the school and asked if there was any way he could be involved. The coach created a team manager role for him. For three years, McElwain showed up to every practice and every game. He wore a shirt and tie on match days. He ran drills, handed out water, kept stats, and cheered every basket like he’d scored it himself. On 15 February 2006, the last home game of his final school year, the coach let him suit up in a proper jersey and sit on the bench. With four minutes left and a comfortable lead, the coach sent him in. His first shot missed. His second missed. Then something shifted. He hit a three-pointer. Then another. Then another. His teammates stopped shooting entirely and just kept passing him the ball. He hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer. 20 points in four minutes. The highest scorer in the game. When the final buzzer went, the entire crowd rushed the court and lifted him onto their shoulders. His mum tapped the coach on the shoulder, in tears. “This is the nicest gift you could have ever given my son.” McElwain won the ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports that year, beating out some of the biggest names in professional sport. He’s 36 now. He works at a local supermarket, coaches basketball, has run 17 marathons including five Boston Marathons, and travels the country speaking about never giving up. When asked about that night, his coach still gets emotional. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

@Luellen1M And you!

@ThinkerCatholic Top of the morning to you 🍀🍀🍀

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me. . . —St. Patrick

I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary. —Lou Holtz Requiescat in pace, Coach Holtz. @NotreDame @NDFootball #louholtz @WordOnFire wordonfire.org/articles/anyth…

Congratulations @PA_GirlsHoops for your 5th consecutive State Championship! Go Lions!

The charge of the Polish Hussars at the Siege of Vienna in 1683 was the largest cavalry charge in history. I am painting this epic moment one painstaking detail at a time. This is exactly what I do - bring history to life in fine art.

A place that makes you want to write a novel

You all are amazing. Many, many thanks.

Would you mind praying for two special intentions today? Thank you!