Yesterday, I had the unexpected honor of visiting Great Elm. Some of you know exactly what that is — the childhood home of William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of National Review. (Once featured on the cover of Life magazine.) It was also the home of Jim Buckley, who had just been commended to God at his funeral Mass. The home seemed to exude history and love. I had the thought that if the walls could speak, there would be great wisdom and joy shared.
Yesterday did feel like the end of an era. Jim was the last of the siblings to die, at 100. But not in the sense of it all being over.
I don’t know if it were possible to leave the funeral Mass and not have a deeper sense of humility and responsibility. Bill always talked about the patrimony. Jim often talked about the Founding. Politics might be so unserious in many ways today, but we have a responsibility to make it otherwise. That might require a miracle as far as presidential politics goes, but we all have a role.
Family. Community. Subsidiarity.
There’s tremendous power in not wasting time and discerning what opportunities are before you to protect and preserve and nourish and create.
Every day that haunts me, especially when it comes to the post-Roe America.
What more are we doing? I never had the impression Jim Buckley was a time waster. And the testimonies say he was loving until the end.
Thanks be to God for a life well lived.
Now how are you and I doing?