Rome
He had been to Rome twice before - once for a conference in 2017, once for research in 2019 - and had experienced it both times as a city that was interesting in proportion to what you brought to it.
Deacon Michael Halbrook
Faith, family, work, and life - all intertwined.
Permanent deacon of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Husband, father of four sons, builder of Catholic technology, and writer of essays, fiction, and homilies.
All
Faith & Life
Homilies & Reflections
Building Something
Ad Alta
Another Voice
Missio Dei
Two Lamps
Lux Perpetua
What the Chain Found in Valencia
I am writing this chapter before we go to Valencia.
Mara's Proposal
He packed on a Sunday evening, the night before his flight, with the specific care of a man who had been thinking about what to bring for three weeks.
Aldric Again
The email from Aldric arrived on a Tuesday morning, two weeks after the October gathering, while Joshua was at the kitchen table writing the argument.
The Naples Find
What follows is the document recovered from the Jesuit archive in Naples in September 2026, translated from the Latin by Claire Ashworth and incorporated into the record with the permission of the archive.
The Argument Building
He wrote to Mara from the kitchen table on Sunday evening, the October dark fully arrived outside the window, the house quiet around him.
Sofia's Materials
What follows is drawn from materials brought to the October gathering by Sofia Baranska of Kraków, comprising three documents from the Baranski-Kowalczyk custody.
The Library on Sunday
Ambrose was waiting outside the library door when Joshua came down from breakfast.
October
He drove south on a Friday morning in the first week of October, and the Ozarks were a different country from the Ozarks of July.
The Other Argument
What follows is drawn from a philosophical manuscript found in the archive of the Institut pour l'Etude de l'Ordre Historique, recovered by Allied forces in 1945.