As a publishing medium, the internet holds much in common with that almost limitless canvas of free expression, the bathroom stall wall: a few odd displays of artistic or conceptual brilliance drowning in an ocean of idiocy. Blogs follow the same general principle and range widely in terms of prosal quality and intellectual acumen; thoughtful discussions of religion and politics and world events find room on the same servers as the gossip columns of barely-literate 13-year-olds.
The Catholic blogosphere undeniably has its share of dreck, certainly; but it’s also home to a number of blogs that are reverent, informative, and literate. One of the strangest and most wonderfully unique among the latter is The LION & the CARDINAL, maintained by Daniel Mitsui.
An artist by training and a staunch traditionalist—he was received into the Church at the renowned St. John Cantius Parish in Chicago—Mitsui is almost impossible to pigeonhole. Unwavering in his support for the pre-Vatican II liturgy, he also reserves harsh criticism for many Renaissance and Baroque artists held sacrosanct in the Western world—Michaelangelo, for instance. His views on the sources of and solutions to the Church’s current problems are not in total accord with mine; neither are his artistic opinions. At the same time, I discern from his writing that he knows a heck of a lot more than I do about both subjects and would doubtless crush me like a bug if I ever tried to challenge him on any particular point. For the time being, then, I will recommend The LION & the CARDINAL simply with the mild caveat that I don’t endorse every opinion expressed therein (which could likely be said of just about any blog mentioned on Thulcandra).
It’s difficult to do the site justice in words; heavy on images, it’s better seen than talked about. One of the main reasons I wanted to write this entry in the first place, though, was to provide a space to link to his essays—which, at the present moment, are rather difficult to find, being often scattered amidst dozens of other, more graphic-intensive entries. (Mr. Mitsui has been promising to do this himself for awhile; recent events, however, lead me to doubt that this will happen anytime soon.)
So, without further ado, here are the essays. Enjoy.
Stand-alone Articles:
- Conversion and Consumerism
- Legend and Apocrypha
- Bonfire Motets and Missionary Icons
- Devils in the Green Wood
Loss, Archaelogy, and Recovery:
Eric Gill:
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Incidentally, Mr. Mitsui has a PayPal donation button on his site. Given that he’s a talented, tradition-minded Catholic artist—not to mention young and recently married—it would be good for those of us who can to support him in his endeavors.
We must congrtlate Mr, Mitsui on his recent marriage to a beautiful and worthy girl!