Election Year Economies
Although it has been irritating at times to have to listen to Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton in the Democratic nomination debates, I will miss them if they withdraw from the race. At least they keep me from falling asleep when I listen to Senators Kerry and Edwards.Kucinich and Sharpton speak to a
A Movie, a Mystic, a Spiritual Tradition
In devout Catholic circles 50 years ago, Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824), a German mystic and stigmatic, was a well-known and revered figure. She was later all but forgotten by most people until last fall, when Mel Gibson mentioned in an interview that her book on Christ’s Passion had infl
Presiding at the Liturgy of the Eucharist: The third in the Lent-Easter series ‘Good Liturgy’
By the 16th century, the priest had become such a predominant figure in the celebration of Mass that several bishops at the Council of Trent (1545-63) went on record with a startling proposal. Perhaps it would be better, they suggested, if the laity just stayed at home and let the priest say his Mas
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
One afternoon in early February, a sad-eyed man in a faded parka was standing on a corner in Midtown Manhattan. He was timidly trying to distribute cards for a nearby sandwich-and-salad shop, but the crowd brushed past him. Not far away, two young women were more successful. Smiling and twittering,
Letters
Letters
Something Great
Of Many Things (2/23) honoring the life and the work of Jim Santora was one of the nicest tributes I have ever read. I hope and pray that you said all these same things to him not only on his deathbed but also 10 and 20 and 30 years ago during the middle of…
Editorials
Fraternal Correction
The National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People is to be commended for its candid and balanced report. It is an example of the kind of lay participation in church governance that the sexual abuse crisis has taught us is necessary today. The report calls for transparency and
Faith in Focus
The Abuse Scandal: What Did I Miss?
Some of the priests identified as abusers, staring out from the pages of the local newspapers, are not strangers to me. I was on the faculty of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y., from 1965 through 1979. I taught Scripture all those years and was rector for the last six. I
Books
Applying the Traditioning Process
Walter Brueggemann has written over two dozen books on nearly every section of the Hebrew Bible Professor emeritus of biblical studies at Columbia Theological Seminary he is a widely acclaimed scholar who constantly applies new methods of reflection to explain the richness of biblical texts In th
Film
Mel O’Drama: The Passion of the Christ
Why am I writing this? More to the point, why are you reading it? The answer is simple. Everybody has to say something about it, and many of you feel you have to see it. Even before seeing the film—and making it clear that I had not yet seen it—I was badgered into making statements…
The Word
Rejoice!
It may seem strange that in the middle of Lent we are told to rejoice The reason for this is not that we might have a breather from the rigors of penance How many of us are even experiencing any real rigors Rather this moment of rejoicing fittingly follows the fundamental theme found in the…
Culture
Apply Your Whole Self: New Books on the Bible
Johannes Albrecht Bengel (1687-1752), the scholar generally regarded as the founder of New Testament textual criticism, had a wonderful Latin saying about reading Scripture: Te totum applica ad textum; rem totam applica ad te (“Apply your whole self to the text; apply the whole thing to yourse
News
Signs of the Times
Sexual Abuse Brought Smoke of SatanIn its report on the causes of the crisis of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the United States, released on Feb. 27, the National Review Board said grievously sinful acts of priests and inaction by bishops let the smoke of Satan enter the church.As a result the
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