danielheisey

About Daniel J. Heisey

Daniel J. Heisey, O. S. B, is a Benedictine monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he is known as Brother Bruno. He teaches Church History at Saint Vincent Seminary.

Karloff Reads Conrad

2022-10-11T01:56:05-05:00

In the film Gods and Monsters (1998), the character James Whale describes actor Boris Karloff as “the dullest fellow imaginable.” Historically, Whale directed Karloff in Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), making a struggling stage actor a movie star. In Gods and Monsters Whale comes across as a sadly self-absorbed figure, but by all [...]

Karloff Reads Conrad2022-10-11T01:56:05-05:00

Visiting Aunt Annie

2022-09-14T00:33:16-05:00

At the time, of course, there was no way I could appreciate that we were living in something of a time warp, since a lot of what we were doing was about as out of date as a steam locomotive or a Model T. Maybe ten miles from our 1960s ranch-style house was where my parents [...]

Visiting Aunt Annie2022-09-14T00:33:16-05:00

Grant Wood’s Silence

2022-08-28T22:14:55-05:00

Paintings by Eric Sloane rarely include the human form, although sometimes a farmer is carrying a bucket by an old barn, or a fisherman is casting under a covered bridge. Likewise, paintings by Edward Hopper seldom have people in them, and when they do, Hopper’s people are either alone or couples who look as though they [...]

Grant Wood’s Silence2022-08-28T22:14:55-05:00

Meeting David McCullough

2022-08-09T22:56:36-05:00

In May, 1998, I met one of my boyhood heroes, David McCullough. With his death at his home in Massachusetts at age 89, America has lost a national treasure. His writings earned him two Pulitzer Prizes, two Francis Parkman Prizes, fifty-five honorary degrees, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2012, his native Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, named [...]

Meeting David McCullough2022-08-09T22:56:36-05:00

Benedictines and Seneca

2022-07-01T20:34:48-05:00

As C. S. Lewis observed in The Discarded Image and elsewhere, medieval people respected authority, and not least the authority of an author. Medieval people respected books, even if they rarely read them; human nature never changing, modern people fit the same pattern. Among medieval people, medieval monks seem to be synonymous with copying manuscripts, but [...]

Benedictines and Seneca2022-07-01T20:34:48-05:00

Certain Musty Old Values

2022-06-08T21:21:18-05:00

Writing in January, 1946, to his friend, Erle Stanley Gardner, Raymond Chandler defined what in crime fiction makes a successful detective.  Although, Chandler believed, “an eccentric character wears out its welcome,” he declared, “The character that lasts is an ordinary guy with some extraordinary qualities.”  That description fit not only Chandler’s own fictional detective, Philip Marlowe, [...]

Certain Musty Old Values2022-06-08T21:21:18-05:00

Education from Henry Adams

2022-05-17T17:09:40-05:00

Some years ago, a friend said he could not understand the ongoing popular interest in John Adams and his descendants.  Of that prominent American family, he said, “They were all smart, but sick.”  Brilliance and eccentricity (if not madness) do seem to pair together, and many of the Adams men were no exception. Such patterns fascinated [...]

Education from Henry Adams2022-05-17T17:09:40-05:00

Praying with Ricardo Montalban

2022-04-09T16:32:26-05:00

Featured on the cover of the April, 1979, issue of Guideposts magazine was an actor, Ricardo Montalban. In 1945 Norman Vincent Peale founded Guideposts as an ecumenical outlet for inspirational true stories by people from all walks of life. A Protestant pastor, Peale might be best known for his book, The Power of Positive Thinking. In [...]

Praying with Ricardo Montalban2022-04-09T16:32:26-05:00

Bricks, Bolts, and Donkeys for Lent

2022-02-19T17:07:42-06:00

Department store magnate Harry Selfridge said, “There’s no fun like work,” but probably most people would disagree.  The daily monastic routine can help a monk appreciate the daily secular treadmill of a married man who gets up, shaves, showers, gets dressed, and goes off to a job he once thought he was just the man cut [...]

Bricks, Bolts, and Donkeys for Lent2022-02-19T17:07:42-06:00

Benjamin Franklin’s Virtues

2022-01-14T00:45:34-06:00

Benjamin Franklin called my ancestors “Palatine boors.”  It was nothing personal, of course, since he was worried about all the German-speaking peoples settling in the British colonies along the eastern seaboard, especially Pennsylvania.  In 1683, about five miles west of Philadelphia, a special enclave, Germantown, was set up for them, but they were spreading farther afield. [...]

Benjamin Franklin’s Virtues2022-01-14T00:45:34-06:00
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