James Martin, S.J.

Did Jesus laugh nbsp Most likely nbsp nbsp Do I like to laugh nbsp Most definitely nbsp nbsp Anyway this is just for fun nbsp I don t think we had our blog up and running when this thing came out nbsp Hope you enjoy it nbsp If you steal any of these jokes at least footnote me

nbsp That s what Scott Simon on NPR s Weekend Edition asked me the other day nbsp nbsp Here s my answer from today s show along with some reflections on an occasion when humor went too far nbsp The America piece on humor that Mr Simon mentions at the beginning is The Most Infallible Sign

Roland Joffe director of The Mission a movie about the Jesuit reductions that I hope that you ve seen is doing a new movie on St Josemaria Escriva founder of Opus Dei nbsp Laurie Goodstein has the story in today s New York Times nbsp The project was initiated by a member of Opus Dei is p

Sandra Schneiders a member of Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe Mich is a professor of New Testament Studies and Christian Spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology Berkeley Calif nbsp She is also the author of several books on religious life after Vatican II n

Oh boy nbsp My friend The Anchoress is sure to get nbsp deluged with comments about this post on a fellow blogger who has decided to receive Communion without having been received in the Catholic church Rick at Brutally Honest for whom I have a deal of affection and he rsquo s been a a provo

To build on Michael Sean Winter s post immediately below here is David Gibson on what he calls Obama s Altar Call for Health Care Reform nbsp on PoliticsDaily Obama was clearly ramping up his rhetoric in an effort to counter the strident attacks He punctuated each claim from opponents — about

Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa Oklahoma has decreed that all Masses he celebrates in the cathedral will henceforth nbsp be ad orientem facing East back to the people facing the high altar nbsp H t to David Gibson at Commonweal nbsp For those of you a few years ago that thought that Pope

I wouldn t put it that way but Alan Dershowitz the Harvard Law professor makes an interesting point about the Justice s comments on Monday and how they square with Catholic teaching and Christian morality nbsp Here s Dershowitz on nbsp The Daily Beast nbsp nbsp I never thought I would live

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp No that s not the title of the latest book about Hogwarts nbsp nbsp A hearty H T to Celia Wren at Dotcommonweal for pointing out this terrific piece by Michael Paulson who got unfairly lambasted for using the wo

Why did Newt Gingrich nbsp conver to nbsp Catholicism nbsp Here s the answer or nbsp at least part of it nbsp according to Time in an article entitled um Why Newt Gingrich Converted to Catholicism nbsp H T to Deacon s Bench Gingrich describes the appeal of Catholicism for him in just these