Pietro Di Donato wrote ‘The Penitent’ because he thought it to be a profoundly human story—though both the murderer and the victim became larger than life in reality.
Literature
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The four martyred churchwomen of El Salvador dare us to be saints
More than four decades after their murders, the four churchwomen of El Salvador remain powerful examples of faith and commitment to the Gospel.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Understanding Pope Francis’ teaching about the spiritual value of time
Too many of us are attracted to a “spatial” life because we can control spaces and stop them from changing. But time, even when managed, is always beyond our control. In his new book, James K. A. Smith seeks to reorient us to the reality of human life as temporal.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
A Washington insider with an eye for the outsiders: Mary McGrory
In a 50-year career as a columnist, Mary McGrory wrote some of the most prescient political journalism around—including for America.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Incarnational Catholic literature: The fiction of Kirstin Valdez Quade
The characters of Kirstin Valdez Quade’s stories often find grace to be just out of reach—but they still pursue it.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The rhythm of the week — and how it became central to American life
David Henkin explores the history and development of the week as a unit of time—the only one that has no basis in astronomical rhythms.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The difference between ‘becoming like God’ and ‘playing God’? The virtues of humility and gratitude.
David McPherson’s new book on the importance of placing limitations on our ambitions and desires touches on existential, political, moral and economic questions.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Christopher Lasch: the critic of American life beloved by traditionalist Catholics and Marxists alike
Christopher Lasch’s writings are cited by everyone from the most fervent cultural conservatives to dyed-in-the-wool Marxists—and he had much to say about modern American culture.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Mother Teresa’s dark night of the soul—as told by her beloved friend
Jim Towey tells of his long friendship and collaboration with Mother Teresa in ‘To Love and Be Loved.’
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
When the (books about) saints go marching in
All Saints Day is a day to venerate holy men and women—and also to recognize the saints in our midst, complicated though they might be.