Cambridge MA Several weeks back I wrote about medieval Cistercian monk John of Ford rsquo s reading of the last verse of the Song of Songs ldquo Flee my beloved and become like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices rdquo My point mdash nbsp and I am not sure I convinced an

In the most recent episode of Community a comedy on NBC the character Abed who is both Muslim and has Asperger rsquo s Syndrome reads the New Testament The episode Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples presents the character Shirley who is a devout Christian musing on the popularity of YouTube

Check out the brief NPR interview with National Catholic Reporter s John Allen about the batch of new cardinals named by Pope Benedict and what it may mean for the future of the Church In short probably nothing dramatic Allen says the announcement would be like a midterm election in which all the

Yesterday the Mid-East Synod concluded with a message from the Synod to the world or Nuntius Read the whole thing here The following are highlights Guided by the Holy Scriptures and the living Tradition we have reflected together on the present and the future of Christians and all peoples of th

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp The physical circumstance nbsp The Temple in this story is the building which sits on a large platform the size of a soccer field nbsp The Temple rsquo s rearmost part is God rsquo s dwelling place and opens outward and eastward to still other sacred rooms nbsp

The latest round of document releases from WikiLeaks nbsp regarding the Iraq War will be getting a lot of attention through the weekend rightly so It s too bad that will probably mean a report from California s Bay Citizen will probably be overlooked hat tip to Truthout A good portion of the nb

Here our latest offering from Mirada Global a reflection on the beauty of scientific equations from Gabriel Ferraro This symmetry of the equations expresses something very deep about the nature of electricity and magnetism In a way each one of these phenomenon is the consequence of the other

Among the editor of America Drew Christiansen SJ s distinguished contributions to the public life of the Church was to help create back in the 1990s the International Co-ordination of the Roman Catholic Church for the Holy Land The longstanding representative on it of the bishops conference of E

As I write this I am en route to Belgium for three days of meetings on the thought of Rene Girard the French-American historian literary critic and philosopher of the social sciences Girard is receiving more and more attention these days from theologians among many others for his insights into

It doesn rsquo t seem to matter how thoughtful well prepared or well-crafted a policy is Or whether mdash after bouts of arm-twisting waves of lobbying and compromises made and re-made in back rooms mdash it can finally be passed by elected democratic representatives and signed into law What mat

Ramsay MacMullen is a distinguished scholar who is now in his 80s Age is significant for a scholar as it should be in so many other walks of life and vocations because if it does not necessarily bring with it wisdom age brings a long view and the ability to look over a field of study and know wh

ROME As expected Pope Benedict today announced a consistory to create more cardinals on 20 November reading out the list of the new porporati or red hats at the end of his Wednesday audience Twenty of the 24 are elettori that is eligible to elect the next pope in a future conclave if it w

Suicide--much has been written about this subject and mental health experts study it unceasingly Yet despite the data amassed and the theories and speculations drawn ultimate answers particularly regarding the motives of a particular person elude even the best professionals Outside pressures

ROME There s been some debate in the Vatican press office about whether Pope Benedict will make the announcement of a 20 November consistory to create more cardinals tomorrow or after the end of the Synod Sunday In his blog tonight the vaticanista Andrea Tornielli seems certain it ll be tomorrow

The Washington Post s Michael Gerson picks up on a remark made by President Obama at a rally in Boston last week claiming that it further demonstrates the president is out of touch with average Americans Campaigning for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Obama said that Part of the reason tha

The dramatic rescue effort to save the lives of 33 miners in Chile has riveted the world rsquo s attention in recent weeks It shows respect for life mdash that each life matters But what would you think of one of the world rsquo s wealthiest societies that let not just 51 but 51 million of its pe

Powerful stuff and required reading from Peter Steinfels over at Commonweal on the leave-taking of Catholics from their church nbsp Why have I spent so much time on those of Catholic upbringing who have left the church First because the numbers are not trivial to put it mildly ldquo Catholi

St. Jean de Brébeuf’s life, like the lives of all the North American Martyrs, has much to teach us about working and living among those who are different from us.

A new term is heard more and more in agricultural circles heirloom plants These are fruits vegetables and trees that embody the best traits of their genus and family and deserve to be preserved for the future This takes special care as seen in the two examples below of environmentally-consciou