Posted inThe Good Word

The Virtue of (Homiletic) Brevity

How long should a good homily be That question is often discussed A related question–but one that is not often addressed–is how long goes a homily have to be In other words how short is too short I got to thinking about this question this weekend while visiting a parish in Massachusetts The

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Interview with Fr. Jim Martin

America Associate Editor Jim Martin S J has been interviewed by Catholic Digest Fr Jim talks about his new book A Jesuit Off-Broadway which chronicles his experiences as a theological adviser during the production of the Public Theater s The Last Days of Judas Iscariot CD So what did

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Welcome, Michael Sean Winters!

As some of you no doubt noticed author and occasional America contributor Michael Sean Winters has joined the ranks of our bloggers Michael has written for The New Republic and Slate and is the author of the forthcoming Left at the Altar How the Democrats Lost the Catholics and How the Catholic

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Stealing Life

The Wire by far my favorite show on television is now in its fifth and final season on HBO Even if you haven t been watching this sprawling Baltimore-based drama you can catch up with this handy synopsis of seasons 1-4 As I noted in my recent OMT each season of The Wire focuses on a di

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Foley Poetry Contest

America is now accepting submissions for the Foley Poetry Contest Details here Last year we received over 1 000 entries from all over the world The youngest writer was 8 the oldest 89 according to poetry editor James Torrens S J The winner was John Slater a Trappist monk from the Abbey of

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The Ethics of Fertility Treatments

This Slate article on IVF appeared a few weeks ago but is worth revisiting for the ethical questions it raises The author makes the case that fertility doctors should encourage couples struggling to have children to go straight to IVF rather than first trying fertility medication and then art

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America Essay Contest

As America nears its 100th anniversary in April 2009 the magazine will be celebrating in a variety of ways both large and small One part of our celebration we re particularly excited about is the America Essay Contest Thanks to a generous donor we will be awarding 3 000 to the writer who mak

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Christmas Reading Picks

Looking for holiday gift ideas Check out a selection of Christmas reading picks from America s editors now online and free to all Includes new books like Darwin s Angel John Cornwell s critique of Richard Dawkins and old favorites like Death Comes for the Archbishop and Mr Ives Christ

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The Catholic Book Club Returns!

OK so the Catholic Book Club hasn t gone anywhere Every month since 1928 the CBC–as we fondly call it–has been picking the best in Catholic fiction and non-fiction for the benefit of America s readers first via a subscription mail service and now on the Web But we recently unveiled a newl

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