Updates (May 6 - May 10, 2024)
New Post, Sacramental Worldview, Book Club Recording & Release Date
Hello everyone! Another week has gone by and so, another update post is here:
Sacramental & Technical Magic
Earlier this week, I released part two of the “What Magics Good Fantasy” series. I received a lot of good feedback on social media and I will probably write more on this subject as my ideas develop. In particular, my friend Ben Espen expanded on my essay and discussed the wild magic of the Fae as could be seen in folktales and older fantasy stories. Ben mentioned Tom Bombadil as an example of the older style of magic in The Lord of the Rings. Bombadil’s powers and purpose are mysterious and many essays have been written trying to “figure him out.”
Sacramental Worldview
Just yesterday, I received a copy of Fr. Harrison Ayre’s book, Mysterion, in the mail. I have been wanting a primer on what we Catholic’s call the “Sacramental Worldview” and the beauty of a book came to my attention. Thank you Amazon algorithm. In this book, Fr. Ayre aims to address this concept and how reality itself is sacramental.
From the introduction:
This book is an attempt to express the idea that the word “sacrament” has a broader and deeper meaning than we often give it. We are going to explore the idea that we always have access to the life of Christ today, principally through the Church and the life of discipleship, but also by looking to the whole of creation and seeing it as a sign that points us to God.
By beautiful, I am referring to the exterior of the book and I don’t just mean the dust jacket. If you want to see what I mean, then you will have to buy the book yourself. It is worth it for that alone.
Eifelheim Discussion
Last night, I met with John Palmer and Matthew Scarince to discuss Michael Flynn’s Medieval first contact story, Eifelheim. It was a smaller group this time around because one guest had prior commitments and another got a nasty cold at the last minute. However, I think the discussion went very well and the episode is set to come out on May 15, 2024.
We all looked at the book from different angles. John approached the hard science elements from his background as a scientist, Matthew, being a historian, discussed a lot of the history contained in the book, and I pointed out the book’s literary qualities and how Flynn used various Saints’ stories to structure the plot and themes. It was a great discussion and I can’t wait to hear what other listeners thought of the book.
That said, please pray for the soul of Michael Flynn who died on September 30, 2023. His daughter posted this on his blog the day after he died:
Wonder and Anticipation, the Likes of Which We Have Never Seen
Hello family, friends and fans of Michael F. Flynn.
It is with sorrow and regret that I inform you that my father passed away yesterday, Sept 30, 2023.
He was sleeping peacefully in the home that he loved. His father built the home 70 years ago and my dad had an outsized attachment to it. Many happy memories of his childhood and of his parents, and his brothers, especially Dennis, were contained herein.
If you met or corresponded or conversed with Dad then you know that he was interested in a great many things in the world. If he asked you a question about something, it was because he really wanted to know, he wasn't just being polite. He liked to take the "devil's advocate" position in debates and arguments, especially political ones, much to the annoyance of my mother and probably many others. Dad was looking for a robust exercise in intellectual and rhetorical swordplay; he just didn't always see that sometimes people just want to have a conversation without being en garde.
He had the ultimate dad sense of humor, and had an endless supply of terrible jokes, puns, and groaners, even when he was in the hospital in July. In "real life," he was a very easy going person. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have heard my dad yell or curse.
At his death, he had a lot of tabs open on his browser, on a variety topics. He always sought to learn about different things. Some of it was for his writing, some for the extensive family research he has always done, and some of it was just because he wanted to learn more about the universe, the planet we live on, and the people around him.
So if you take anything away from your time reading his works, his blog, interacting with him on social media or elsewhere, forget the politics and social commentary and the devil's advocacy, but take away that he was someone who just wanted to learn and engage with others, and keep that piece with you in your lives.
- His Daughter.
May he rest in peace.
Thank you all for reading! Until next time.
God Bless