James Martin, S.J.

As any sentient Catholic knows there are often internecine battle in American parishes between contemporary and traditional music Those on the contemporary side argue that music should reflect the times A similar argument is advanced by those who favor modern architecture for church bu

The Vatican announced yesterday that Pope Benedict would meet briefly with Jewish leaders during his trip to Washington and New York City this month At the same time perhaps in preparation for the possible opposition from Jewish leaders on the language of the Good Friday prayers that are part

When I was a boy I laughed when my parents would talk about their all-time favorite April Fool s joke the famous BBC spaghetti harvest TV spot which fooled millions of viewers a la The War of the Worlds Even their fading memories of the spot made them laugh Well here it is from 195

A few years ago a Catholic friend who lives in a large northeastern city told me of visiting a church that had been closed for some time It was a grand and great old church where we had both been parishioners The diocese had started to auction off various pieces of art in the church to the highe

In preparation for Pope Benedict s visit to the United States next month Beliefnet the web s largest mainstream spirituality and religion website has nabbed David Gibson to blog regularly on B16 Gibson a former Vatican radio correspondent experienced religion journalist and author of b

Yesterday a Jesuit friend told me that the Easter Vigil at his parish was three hours and forty minutes Upon hearing this another friend remarked That pretty much leaves out anyone with children doesn t it For me and for most Catholics the Easter Vigil is the absolute summit of the litu

If you ve ever read the seemingly weekly surveys of American Catholics and then scratched your head at the results and thought Who in the world did they talk to then you might have fun participating in this new nationwide survey sponsored by Beliefnet the largest spirituality and religion w

After the sabbath as the first day of the week was dawning Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb And behold there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven approached rolled back the stone and sat upon it His appearance was like lightning and

Word has reached us that Jon Hassler has died at his home in Collegeville Minn at the age of 74 One of the great novelists of our time his books including North of Hope Staggerford Dear James and Grand Opening examined with infinite compassion the lives of the re