Fr. Walter's Parish
Page 3: Versus Verses

                                                                        Versus Verses

is a series of

didactic proems,

designed to teach

not by imposition,

but by discovery.

 

A proem is a

prose-poem.

Like prose,

it is expository.

Like a poem,

it uses stanzas,

rhyme and other

poetical devices.

 

These proems are

didactic, not lyrical.

They appeal mainly

to thought, not emotion--

although I hope you

feel deeply

what you are

correctly thinking.

 

They style is sparse

and concise,

intended to render phrases

quotable

by making them easy

to memorize.

 

The technique is expressed

in the word versus,

which does not always mean

opposed to,

but sometimes

as distinguished from.

 

I like to call this

a collection of

antithetical epigrams

or—if you prefer—

epigrammatical antitheses.

 

 

On each issue

I am interested in

not offering the last word,

but in you

taking the first step.

 

Thank you for your attention.

 

Msgr. Walter Niebrzydowski

Fr-Walter@nyc.rr.com

 

 

Click on the title to access the following.



A Kind of Thing vs. The Kind Thing
A Rested Mind vs. An Arrested Mind
Abrasive vs. Persuasive
Actions vs. Attitudes
Adoration vs. Addiction
Affective vs. Effective
Apart vs. A Part
Aging vs. Maturing
Anointing vs.Annoying
Answer vs. Response
Be Aware vs. Beware
Believing vs. Beliefs
Both/And vs. Either/Or
Boundary vs. Bondage
Buying vs. Buying Into
Caution vs. Vision
Censure vs. Censorship
Certitude vs. Plenitude
Change vs. Progress
Christmas vs. Christ's Mass
Church Wedding vs. Wedding in a Church
Clergy vs. Priests
Cliche vs. Creativity
Coercion vs. Conversion
Coexistence vs. Proexistence
Commandments vs. Consequences
Common Ground vs. Battleground
Competence vs. Competition
Confusion vs. Uncertainty
Consuming vs. Comsummation
Conversion vs. Proselytism
Converting vs.Convincing
Debate vs. Dialogue
Deference vs. Difference
Demagogues vs. Pedagogues
Discord vs. His Chord
Dissent vs.Disbelief
Dollars vs. Sense
Dualism vs. Duality
Dying vs. Deadness
Eating vs. Dining
Earn vs. Express
Education vs. Propaganda
Efficiency vs. Fruitfulness
Ethics vs. Morals
Faith vs. Fear
Fasting vs. Dieting
Fire vs. Light
Fitful vs. Fitting
Floor vs. Flaw
Followers vs. Disciples
Following Our Bliss vs.
    Facing What's Amiss

Force vs. Persuasion
Friends vs. Acquaintances A
Friends vs. Acquaintances B
Garden vs. Jungle
Give vs. Give
Givers vs. Takers
Giving vs. Grabbing
God The Father vs. The Godfather
God vs. Religion
Going Broke vs. Going For Broke
Going to Church vs. Being Church
Good vs. Right
Good People vs. Good For People
Goods vs. Goodness
Groan vs. Grown
Happiness vs. Joy
Hearing vs. Listening
Hipness vs. Happiness
History vs. Mystery
Hitting the Notes vs. Singing the Song
Hollowness vs. Holiness
Hope vs. Optimism
Horror vs. Heroism (at Ground Zero)
Hospitality vs. Hostility
Hostility vs. Hospitality
Humility vs. Humiliation
Humility vs. Magnanimity
Hunger vs. Passion
I Possess the Truth vs.
   The Truth Possesses Me

Icons vs. Idols
Idea vs. Ideology
Images vs. Concepts
Imagination vs. Fantasy
Immorality vs. Immortality
Improvement vs. Impoverishment
In the Midst vs. In a Mist
Inconvenient vs. Inhospitable
Individuality vs. Singularity
Inequity vs. Iniquity
Infinity vs. Eternity
Intervention vs. Interference
Involvement vs. Interference
Justice: Restorative vs. Retributive
Latitude vs. Attitude
Lay Ministry vs. Ministry of the Laity
Leader vs.Commander
Lecturers vs.Teachers
Legal vs. Moral
Liberation vs. Liberty
Like vs. Ought
Liturgy vs. Lethargy
Loneliness vs. Solitude
Longing vs. Languishing
Love vs. Desire
     
Marriage vs. Wedding
Marriage: Stability vs. Satisfaction
Mastery vs. Mystery
Meaning vs. Meanness, Pt. One
Meaning vs. Meanness, Pt. Two
Medicine: Technology vs. Teleology
Meditation vs. Contemplation
Messy vs. Mercy
Ministers vs. Caterers
Moan vs.Complaint
Monotheism vs. Moneytheism
Morality vs. Spirituality
More vs. Less
Mourning vs. Maligning
Mystery vs. Mystification
Needs vs. Wants
Nets vs. Network
Neutral vs. Hostile
Nihilism vs. Nothingness
Obedience vs. Obeisance
On the Way vs. In the Way
Opportune vs. Importune
Opportunity vs. Obligation
Ownership vs. Stewardship
Parish vs. Parochialism
Passivity vs. Inactivity
Paternity vs. Paternalism
Possessions vs. Priorities
Poverty of Spirit vs.
    The Spirit of Superfluity

Power vs. Nurture
Presents vs. Presence
Principles vs. Preference
Prophets vs. Profits
Rational vs. Reasonable
Rational vs. Relational
Rejection: Revenge vs. Redemption
Religion: Servant vs. Substitute
Religion vs. Spirituality
Rescuers vs. Looters
Responsibility vs. Response-ability
Retreat vs. Defeat
Route vs. Rout
Secret vs. Mystery
Self-Serving vs. Self-Sacrificing
Sentiment vs. Sentimentality
Shadows vs. Darkness
Signs vs. Symbols
Simplicity vs. Simplistic
Sinners vs. Penitents
Social Service vs. Social Action
Solution vs. Salvation
Spirituality: With vs.Without
Statement vs. Suggestion
Surplus vs. Substance
Symbols vs. Cymbals
Sympathy vs. Solution
Talking vs. Communicating
Teaching vs. Learning
Temple vs. Tomb
Temptation vs. Invitation
Tenacity vs. Obstinacy
The Abyss vs.The Morass
The Acquisitive vs. The Inquisitive
The Failures of Success vs.
       The Successes of Failures

The Genius vs. The Ingenuous
The Golden Calf vs. The Fattened Calf
The Good News and Good Advice
The Host and Our Host
The Lucrative vs. The Ludicrous
The Master Plan vs. The Master's Plan
The Miraculous vs. The Manipulative
The Peak vs. The Pit
The Self-Centered vs. The Centered Self
The Wise vs. The Wily
The Womb vs.The Tomb
The Word vs. The World
Things vs. Encounters
Time vs. Timing
Tipping vs. Tithing
To Defy vs. To Deify
To Survive vs. To Thrive
To Understand vs. To Stand Over
Tradition vs. Traditionalism
Tragedy vs. Prosperity
Truths vs. Truth
Unity vs. Uniformity
Universality vs. Particularity
    vs. Generality

Vocation vs. Vacation
Waiting vs. Vigilance
Walking vs. Talking
What? vs. So What?
Will vs. Willfulness
Wisdom vs. Knowledge
World vs. Whirl
World vs. Worldliness
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