A New Roman Missal: What to expect from a new translation of liturgical texts
Catholics expect some changes to the words in the liturgy from time to time. But they will soon be using the first Mass texts since the Second Vatican Council that have been created according to a different theory of translation. The revision will have a noticeable effect on the style and sound of t
More Than Words: The many symbols of the liturgy
The many symbols of the liturgy
Ireland’s Jewish Patron Saint: A Bloomsday summons to the Irish people
Few saints’ days are more widely celebrated throughout the world than March 17, the feast of St. Patrick. No literary date is commemorated more widely than June 16, Bloomsday, which marks the day in 1904 on which the fictional events of James Joyce’s Ulysses unfolded. Both days are major
What You Will Notice
Here are samples of new wording for passages from the greeting, the Glory to God, the Creed and the memorial acclamations. (These texts have not received final official approval.) The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth to p[eople of good will. We praise
Red State Blues: The Florida recount and the perils of pluralism
Early on in HBO’s “Recount,” a new film about the disputed 2000 presidential election, two distinct political philosophies are contrasted. James Baker (played by Tom Wilkinson), the head of George W. Bush’s operation in the contested state of Florida, vows to win by any means necessary. “This is a street fight for the presidency of…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
On April 4, 1968, just hours before Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tenn., Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign made a stop in Muncie, Ind. He wanted to talk to the 9,000 students who had assembled in the gymnasium at Ball State University about the meaning of life. “W
Letters
Letters
Bush and Branches Your editorial, “Abuse of Office” (4/28), needs clarification. You assert that President Bush made so-called “power gains” with the acquiescence of the legislative and judicial branches. Really? My dictionary defines “acquiescence” as acceptance
Editorials
Meeting Development Goals: A report
Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal free primary education; promoting gender equality and empowerment of women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating H.I.V./AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a glob
Faith and Reason
Recovering Western Liturgical Traditions
What can Catholics learn from our brothers in the Eastern church?
Faith in Focus
A Church to Hope In: What should distinguish the future church?
In his second encyclical letter, Pope Benedict XVI affirms the centrality of hope as a Christian virtue, one that carries those imbued with it to the doorway of salvation. The Christian’s ultimate hope is in Christ the savior. Here and now we carry hope also for the church, Christ’s body
Books
Glory Days
At a time when baseball fans are dealing with disappointment and disillusionment in the face of the steroid scandals 11 star players from the 1950s and 1960s find a voice in Fay Vincent rsquo s latest venture into oral history Listening to them tell in their own words what it was like to play in
Lessons Ignored
Tony Judt's 'Reappraisals,' reviewed
Poetry
After Loss
In the middle of God’s will
The Word
Surprising Dinner Companions
In the biblical tradition meals were important occasions rich in symbolism It was customary to ratify agreements or covenants at meals and the sacrifices offered in the temple often involved meals The figure of Wisdom invites those in search of wisdom to her banquet Jews in Jesus rsquo time pic
Like a House Built on Rock
Today we rejoin the Sunday cycle of Ordinary Time only to encounter the verses that form the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount To appreciate this conclusion it may be helpful first to look back at the sermon as a whole With the Beatitudes Jesus sketches the values and attitudes needed to ent
Catholic Book Club
May-June Selection
This is a monumental work by any standard Gathered between its covers are words of activists and impassioned writers mdash essays by Henry David Thoreau John Muir John Burroughs the poetry of Walt Whitman searing revelations by Rachel Carson newly uncovered narratives of pioneering campaigns
Columns
Lessons of Bittergate: ‘Not all Americans have reason to celebrate the 21st century economy.’
The most extraordinary presidential primary season since 1976, when Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan competed for delegates right up to the eve of the Republican National Convention, is nearly over. Cynics and late-night comics no doubt will heave a well-practiced sigh of relief and pretend, as best th
Culture
Imagining Jesus: Anne Rice discusses the hidden life of Christ.
Known for decades as the best-selling author of erotically charged vampire novels, Anne Rice spent nearly 40 years as a “card carrying atheist” before returning to the Catholic Church in 1998. Having sold more than 100 million books worldwide, Rice ultimately decided to leave “the
Current Comment
Current Comment
Israel at 60, defending religious freedom, the commencement season
Faith
Recovering Western Liturgical Traditions
What can Catholics learn from our brothers in the Eastern church?
News
Signs of the Times
Caritas Increases Relief Efforts in Myanmar Caritas Internationalis is offering emergency response efforts in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Division and the Yangon District, two of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis. An estimated 40,000 people will receive vital relief, including food, shelter, wat
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts