Writing wrap up 2021

5 most fun articles to write this year:

1. Me explaining why before you criticize either the Pope or stereotypical trads about the TLM, you should consider how it draws people who feel outcasted from the Novus Ordo (regular) Mass. Do you think everyone at Latin Mass is an Ideologue? You might be wrong

2. Me explaining how mental illness is not an obstacle to being used by God, and how secularism obscures the spiritual proclivities of neurodivergent people. Were some saints mentally ill, holy, or both?

3. Me fawning over Romeo Santo’s super not bourgeois understanding of love, sex, and romance in his songs. The Sacramental Love Songs of Bachata's Romeo Santos

4. Me remembering the ridiculous things my paranoid schizophrenic grandmother used to do, and how thankful I am for all of it. My grandmother was many things, but sane wasn't one of them

5. Me explaining how both trads and old school queers should come together on their disillusion with the mainstream LGBTQIA+ narrative. The Cognitive Dissonance of Rainbow Capitalism

Personal essays and cultural commentary:

My journey of self-discovery through liturgical music, R&B, and reggaeton. In The Mix  

My reflections on the existential impact of being quarantined in light of James Baldwin’s writings. Why not try life one more time?

Me on why I won’t recommend Jordan Peterson’s books to my students. 

My review of Chris Arnade’s book Dignity. Standing for or standing with? Insights into the Dignity of Backrow America

Me on Obianuju Ekeocha’s critique of Westerners’ elitist approach to bringing about justice in non-western cultures. Heeding Obianuju Ekeocha's Warning About Western Elitism

Also, I started a podcast and wrote a manifesto explaining the project.  

Pop culture reviews:

The Danger of Respectable Christianity (review of The Crown)

Ariana Grande Explores the Existential Highs and Lows of Being a Millennial in 'positions'

Angie Cruz's 'Dominicana' echoes the sacramental imagination of Catholicism

Sons and Daughters: Netflix's Baby and the West's Crisis of Authority

Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma and Guadalupe 

Healing from Addiction and Family Wounds in Nicky Jam’s ‘El Ganador’ 

Ozuna’s Odyssey

My favorite books of 2021 for Catholic World Report