In All Things

A few months ago I wrote a piece in the magazine on the essential place of joy humor and laughter in the spiritual life and in the life of the church The Most Infallible Sign In it I suggested that not only was Jesus most likely a person of great wit but also that the saints and the great C

This a clip from of African American Lives 2 which aired on PBS in New York last night Hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr the documentary traces the genealogy of Morgan Freeman Chris Rock Tina Turner and other famous African Americans It s fascinating stuff so look out for the next instal

The news that Hillary Clinton had loaned her campaign 5 million sent shockwaves through the commentariat It was not good news for her assuredly It shows a lack of enthusiasm for her campaign It shows a lack of good fiscal management that undercuts her claims to super-competence And given th

If you live inside the Beltway and you care about politics late afternoon of every election day you start making calls to find out what the exit polls show The content of these polls shape your last-minute expectations and will constitute much of the coverage and analysis as the night goes on If

In this week s America Richard Blake S J reviews Atonement The film fails to measure up to the stunning novel he writes but few films can disappoint on such a high level This is a busy time of year for Fr Blake who has already reviewed Michael Clayton and

In this morning s Washington Post Shailagh Murray ranks Sen Ted Kennedy s endorsement of Obama along with the latter s victories in Iowa and South Carolina as the principle reasons for the wind at Obama s back going in to today s Tsunami Tuesday Last week I argued that endorsements don

The new movie 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days about an illegal abortion in Romania during its communist era won the prestigious Palme d Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year The New York Times in a rave review said that that Christian Mungiu s new work deserves to be seen by the largest

I confess I listen to C-Span radio in the car Sometimes this only entails waiting to see how long the host waits until cutting off a caller who is linking undocumented workers to take your pick the assassination of JFK the Nazis or an uncomplicated racism If you ever wonder why the Founders

Cambridge MA Many of the early accounts of our new Jesuit general superior Fr Adolfo Nicolas indicate the great influence of his many years in Asia on his understanding of Catholic and Jesuit life and his strong belief that such rich cultures can and should deeply affect Christian intellectu

One of the more interesting findings from the Florida exit polls last week was how poorly John McCain did among those who are frequent church-goers Among those who attend church more than once a week McCain came in third with 24 of the vote behind Mike Huckabee with 40 and Mitt Romney with 26