About

The song

The central theme of Ways of Wisdom is piety.

In our age, “piety” is often misunderstood as a soft synonym for “faith.” But in its classical and truest sense, piety is a virtue that needs to be both believed and lived. Piety is prophetical, poetical, polemical, political, as well as contemplative, catechized, and considerate, fierce, firm, and faithful as well as forgiving.

Ways of Wisdom was created as a journal on the virtue of piety. Its purpose is not (!) evangelization — that is the initial call to faith —, but instead catechesis and formation — that is mystical nourishment for those already on their pilgrimage to the Heavenly Kingdom, and for devout Christians — Catholics, Orthodoxs, Latter-day Saints, or others — who seek to fortify their piety through serious thought, prayer, and study.

The articles in this blog are crafted on three principles:

  1. Ardent in Authenticity — Each article is a thought-out work, crafted to be well-written, well-researched, and worthy for the eyes of a devout faithful; published when it is ready, not when a schedule demands it.
  2. Respect for the Reader — The content here is intellectually and spiritually challenging by design, because I assume that my readers are as curious as they are courageous.
  3. Primacy of Prophecy — Prophecy means to put God above all else, to put Truth above all else, to put Love above all else. I cannot apologize for what is truthful and righteous, and I will not attempt to apologize.

Content here is not random. It is structured around specific Ways of Wisdom, which you will find in the main categories:

  1. People — Essays on philosophical principles and the practical wisdom of life.
  2. Perusals — Deep readings and reviews of books and other texts.
  3. Poetry — Originals poems crafted by me.
  4. Prayer — Meditations, scriptural exegesis, and explorations of the contemplative life.
  5. Polemics — Argumentation and assertive critiques of philosophies and ideologies.

You will also find that this blog does not follow a conventional “two posts a week” schedule. Instead, it adheres to a liturgical rhythm. Articles are published on feast days or special days that lend a more profound, theological context to the work.

Ways of Wisdom is a blog about piety, at times polemical and political, and other times poetic. But at all times, please enjoy.

The singer

I am the author, Franz-Felix. I am a Catholic, member of the (Secular) Discalced Carmelite Order — hence my contemplative character —, and graphic designer studying in Germany and Ireland.

I am a convert from Buddhism, or more broadly Chinese Folk Religion. I was born in 2001 in a Franciscan hospital and named Franz after St. Francis of Assisi. I was baptized as a Roman Catholic in 2013 at the age of 12 years, in the Diocese of Trier, the oldest diocese of Germany. My grand uncle Msgr. Günther Becker served as a priest for the Diocese of Trier, my Franciscan grandmother would regularly do pilgrimages to see the Holy Robe in the Trier cathedral, and I attended a Catholic high-school under the patronage of Alfred Delp S.J. for 6 years, all of which laid the foundation for my faith. What finally convinced me to take on the Catholic faith was that it was exactly like Chinese Folk Religion — including the emphasis on tradition, family, rituals, etc. —, but it was monotheistic and assertively altruistic, both of which I was missing.

I lived and worked in China, Germany, Luxembourg, and France. My days I spend working, studying, praying — which I do either at Holy Mass, at the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office), or sometimes the Rosary —, wandering, and listening to music while cooking dumplings. I learned to play classical guitar in the city of Mainz for a few years, which is why influences from music is often found in my creative work. My poems, which you will find on this blog, are often written on tram rides, or sometimes on a Sunday afternoon to a glass of Irish Coffee or Gin Tonic or a cigarette.

Politically — which I am sure you are more interested in than me —, I am a Christian Democrat and member of the Christian Democratic Union in Germany. I consider myself a mixture of Centrist and Conservative beliefs, with traces of Distributism, Ordoliberalism, Gaullism, and Traditionalism. I support democracy, the traditional family, societal order, welfare programs, and I am fiercely (!) pro-European.

A few more fun facts: I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome — an obsolete label since 2019 — at an early age, my favorite English translation of the Holy Bible is not the King James Version but the 1609 Douay-Rheims Bible, and — even though I like Latin — I prefer the Ordinary Form of the Holy Mass (promulgated by Pope Paul VI) over the Tridentine Mass.