The Wearing of the Black
My 13-year-old daughter wore black to school today. When we pulled into the circular drop-off point at school, she said, "Look at everyone. We look like a bunch of Goths." (For those over 30: Goths, short for Gothic, are the adolescents who wear black clothes and black lipstick, resign the
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Tompkins Square Park stands out as one of the larger parks of lower Manhattan: 10 whole acres—remarkable in a city cramped for space. On weekend afternoons, I sometimes walk over to admire the beauty of the park’s trees and marvel at the diversity of the people who gather there, well-off
Letters
Letters
Culture of Absence
As one who has spent 10 years of his academic life in Germany, I simply could not relate to the essay by James Youniss, I Know It When I See It, (7/4). Such public policies as universal health care, efficient rail transportation, easy access to high culture, Saturday-Sunday closing laws and cradle-to-grave financial…
Editorials
The Patriot Act and Civil Liberties
A handful of the provisions of the USA Patriot Act are set to expireor sunset on Dec. 31, and Congress is therefore considering which of them to re-authorize. President Bush wants the entire act to be made permanent, contending that it has made the United States safer in the wake of the terrorist at
Faith in Focus
A Veteran Remembers
Qui Nhon, in September of 1969, was a hot and dusty small Vietnamese city located on the blue-green waters of the South China Sea and rimmed by the coastal mountains of the Central Highlands. The older women wore the traditional ao dai that resembled shiny black pajamas. Their teeth were stained and
Books
Monstres Sacrs
In 1954 when the blockbuster horror movie Them hit the silver screen the young Barnard graduate and budding writer Francine du Plessix not yet married to the artist Cleve Gray was off in France Even if she hadn rsquo t been there was no way such a sophisticated intellectual with flawless Fre
The Boundaries, Please
Roger Haight needs little introduction to readers of America A Jesuit for over 50 years past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the author of several prize-winning books of theology he now teaches at the interdenominational Union Theological Seminary in New York City I
Weird and Wonderful’
Something happened to the mind of England between the time of Donne and the time of Tennyson and Browning wrote T S Eliot in his 1921 essay The Metaphysical Poets This something was the dissociation of sensibility from which we have never recovered He meant the separation of thought and fe
Film
Right to the Heart: Cinderella Man
They don’t make movies the way they used to, and Cinderella Man shows why. Before it opened, Universal thought it had a certain hit on its hands. The film features two of the most bankable names on any marquee in the world: Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger. Its director, Ron Howard, had team
Poetry
Two-Headed Cow
I lingered for hours beneath the gray sideshow canvas,
The Word
What Does God Expect?
Is it true that life has gotten harder over the years Or might it be that we have simply grown up and now realize that it has always been a challenge we were simply shielded from its hardships We were taught to live good lives to be kind to others and to follow the rules…
Who’s in Your Circle?
In the minds of many people, the circle is a symbol of inclusivity. But circles can also be very exclusive.
The Ark of God
Today we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary as we proclaim that she was taken body and soul into heaven Unlike the Ascension of Jesus there are no biblical traditions associated with this teaching of the church The earliest references to Mary rsquo s assumption appear as early as the
Faith
Who’s in Your Circle?
In the minds of many people, the circle is a symbol of inclusivity. But circles can also be very exclusive.
There is a divine drama unfolding, and we have a part to play in it.
Balthasar believed our contemplation of God must take its cue from Christ, who entered into solidarity with human suffering.
What I learned about prayer from Hans Urs von Balthasar
Balthasar seemed to know just what I was feeling: Christians, he said, often feel like a foreigner forced to speak in a language whose rules they have never learned, or a stuttering child who wants to say something but cannot.
News
Signs of the Times
Roberts Nominated to Supreme CourtJudge John G. Roberts, 50, was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 19 by President George W. Bush, who called him a man of extraordinary accomplishment and ability who has a good heart. Roberts has been a judge of the federal appeals court for the District o
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts