Where did the practice of praying the rosary come from, and why is it such an important part of so many Catholics’ spiritual lives?
Jim McDermott
Jim McDermott writes about pop culture at jimmcdermott.substack.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
What’s the point of ‘Squid Game’? Mindless violence, social critique or just an excuse for a fun conversation?
Red light, green light, 123: Two of America’s writers consider the Netflix juggernaut.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Dave Chappelle’s ‘The Closer’: Empathy, Humility and the Lack Thereof
I find Dave Chappelle’s concept of empathy for transgender people worth considering — both for what it includes and misses.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Sex and Confession: 5 helpful guidelines
First: You are not required to talk about sex in the confessional.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
On William Shatner, Jeff Bezos and deciding whether we live in Heaven or Hell
I am not a fan of billionaire space flights. But then I watched Mr. Shatner weep like he had seen the face of God when he got back to Earth.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
Daniel Craig has brilliantly reinvented James Bond. But he can’t save the franchise from irrelevance.
The ‘Bond’ franchise has finally rid itself of a decades-long pattern of misogyny and sexism. Unfortunately, the movies are also showing signs of losing relevance.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
‘Mass’ captures grief in the wake of a school shooting. That unfiltered pain is a liturgical experience.
“Mass” captures perfectly this experience of tragic loss, from two radically different perspectives.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
3 reasons the Catholic Church should fight to regulate Facebook
As former Facebook employee Frances Haugen testified before Congress, one question seemed to rise to the surface: Is it time to regulate (and perhaps break up) Facebook? From a Catholic standpoint, the answer is absolutely and emphatically yes.
Posted inFaith, Ideas
We need to stop watching Marvel movies (at least for a minute)
We are at a point where people of good will need to stop engaging with the MCU for a minute.
Posted inFaith, Politics & Society
St. Francis taught us that animals are our brothers and sisters. So let us weep for the newly extinct species.
On this feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we take a moment to give praise to God for some of our siblings now forever gone from this planet, and to try and deepen our union with all of God’s creation.