In All Things

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

At first blush Pope Benedict s visit to the U S the week before the Pennsylvania primary should be bad news for Sen Clinton He will denounce abortion and she is backed by the most vocal pro-abortion groups in America He will denounce the Iraq War and coverage will recall that his predecessor

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

In 1992 Bill Clinton demonstrated a self-critical stance towards an important constituency or a craven but brilliant capacity for political calculus when he denounced a hate-filled remark by the black singer Sister Souljah while addressing Jesse Jackson s Rainbow Coalition Clinton s aim was

Please join us in welcoming Valerie Schultz to our roster of bloggers Valerie is a regular contributor to America writing on a variety of topics related to family and parish life Her most recent article The Peculiar Grace of Failure recounted her struggles as a first-year teacher Here s a

Next month s Pennsylvania primary has taken on a disproportionate importance In fact as recently demonstrated by Jim Vandehei and Mike AllenClinton has almost no shot at winning the Democratic nomination Obama has already won a majority of the states and has an insurmountable lead in pledged de

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

Enough the Resurrection A heart s-clarion Away grief s gasping joyless days dejection Across my foundering deck shone A beacon an eternal beam Flesh fade and mortal trash Fall to the residuary worm world s wildfire leave but ash In a flash at a trumpet crash I am all at once w

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

The wonderful British actor Paul Scofield has died I first saw A Man for All Seasons in high school and was mesmerized by it I haven t seen watched in years but reading a few lines from Robert Bolt s screenplay brought the scenes vividly to life Here s Thomas talking to his daughter M