Many of the hip-hop’s most lauded works this year feature religious themes—themes that arguably helped spark a renewal of hip-hop itself.
Music
Posted inFilm
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson on ‘Song Sung Blue’ and the importance of being artists
‘Song Sung Blue’ is a meditation on how crucial art and artistry is to people’s lives.
Posted inDispatches
In Beirut, viral ‘D.J.-priest’ almost blocked from performing by hardline Christians
The Rev. Guilherme Peixoto, the “D.J. Priest” or “Padre Guilherme,” is globally popular on the techno and house music scene but a lawsuit almost kept him from spinning records in Beirut.
Posted inPodcasts
Quiz: Christmas Carol History (Part 4)
How well do you know your Christmas carols? Time for one last quiz.
Posted inBooks
Review: the catholic Catholic imagination of John Darnielle & the Mountain Goats
John Darnielle’s ‘This Year: 365 Songs Annotated’ collects lyrics from, and brief reflections on, 365 different Mountain Goats songs. Catholicism saturates his lyrics, which include references to saints, heretics, the rosary and the Bible.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo thanks children for sharing love at school Christmas concert
“This is Christmas—God who wanted to draw near to us, especially to the smallest,” the pope said, expressing his hope that “we can feel and live this love” all year long.
Posted inPodcasts
The First Noel: Why shepherds heard the Good News first
Hark! host Maggi Van Dorn visits a farm near the Welsh border and takes up fiddle lessons again in this episode on “The First Nowell” (original Cornish spelling) to find out why.
Posted inPodcasts
Quiz: Christmas Carol History (Part 3)
How well do you know your Christmas carols? Time for another quiz.
Posted inPodcasts
Christmas Carols: A secret lesson for preachers
This week on Preach, we’re offering an Advent treat. Host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., sits down with fellow producer Maggi Van Dorn for a rare on-mic conversation about the spiritual power of Christmas carols. Drawing on their work as producers of another America podcast, “Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols,” they reflect on […]
Posted inNews
Pope Leo attends Vatican Christmas concert for the poor featuring Catholic singer Michael Bublé
Christmas carols in every language and culture are expressions of how music can convey “feelings and emotions, even the deepest movements of the soul,” Pope Leo XIV said after listening, clapping and singing along at the Vatican Christmas concert with the poor.