Over the summer the Catholic Book Club read John Kennedy Toole’s darkly comic novel, ‘A Confederacy of Dunces,’ and this fall we are finishing up our discussion of John Howard Griffin’s ‘Black Like Me.’
Catholic Book Club
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Reading John Howard Griffin’s challenging ‘Black Like Me’
Kevin Spinale, S.J., offers his initial thoughts on John Howard Griffin’s ‘Black Like Me,’ the latest selection of the Catholic Book Club.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
We need John Kennedy Toole’s ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ now more than ever
Among the many clichés operative in Covid-time (“in these uncertain times,” “the new normal”), there is the sturdy cliché, “now more than ever.” Well, I think we need comedy now more than ever.
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Thoughts on the Magdalene, Part 2
Another look at the story of Mary Magdalene and interpretations of her throughout history.
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There’s something about Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene’s actual history, as Margaret Arnold tells us, is much richer than we think. The tradition’s appropriation of Mary Magdalene is much more intricate and complex—as the saint herself is complex.
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Unpacking ‘St. Peter’s B-List’: Poems on faith, laughter, guilt, anguish and hope
The new selection of the Catholic Book Club is a collection of poems about the saints.
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The Catholic Book Club: From ‘Catholic Modern’ to ‘Say Nothing’
Kevin Spinale, S.J., the moderator of the Catholic Book Club, led discussions of two very different books this spring and summer. The first, ‘Catholic Modern,’ by James Chappel, is a heady look at how the church remade itself at a time of social and political upheaval. The second, ‘Say Nothing,’ by Patrick Radden Keefe, is a gripping account of some of the key players in the period in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.
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A Children’s Crusade: Patrick Radden Keefe’s ‘Say Nothing’
The Troubles in Northern Ireland were fought mainly by children—young men and women from Northern Ireland and young British soldiers from other parts of the United Kingdom.
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Enshrining the family: Final thoughts on ‘Catholic Modern’
Last thoughts on an intriguing book about how the Catholic Church confronted the realities of the 20th century in Europe.
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Anti-communism, anti-fascism, and Catholic modernism
Reflections on chapters 2 & 3 of ‘Catholic Modern’