Magazine

In Blessed Among All Women Robert Ellsberg publisher of Orbis Books has compiled another unorthodox hagiography The book records the lives of 136 holy women Their stories eloquently told in short entries are grouped according to the virtues of the Beatitudes an arrangement that reflects Ells

With good reason Steven McKenzie worries that many modern men and women misunderstand the Bible There is confusion between biblical and scientific approaches to creation and a misguided recourse to biblical apocalyptic frequently in fundamentalist circles but not limited to them McKenzie prof

In this second collection by Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Mary Oliver containing 42 new poems the contents run in reverse chronological order the most recent ones first just the way a curriculum vitae starts with the latest accomplishments Publishers must fear a flagging of int

In recent years there has been a lively controversy about ldquo de-Christianizing rdquo Christmas We all now speak vaguely about ldquo the holidays rdquo In some circles the greeting ldquo Merry Christmas rdquo has become forbidden speech Whether one regards this debate as serious or silly

Names are important All of us like to be called by our names It indicates recognition and even friendship We are annoyed when someone gets our name wrong We are embarrassed when we do not know or forget the name of someone we should know When others make fun of our name or deliberately misprono

In recent years, even at Christmastime, there has been little good news from the Holy Land, but on Nov. 19 Latin-rite Catholics in the Holy Land had reason to celebrate. That day they welcomed Bishop Fouad Twal, until recently bishop of Tunis, as coadjutor patriarch of Jerusalem. Bishop Twal, a Jord

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently offering an exhibition of the work of Fra Angelico (1390/95-1455), one of the most extraordinary artists of the early Italian Renaissance period. His vibrantly hued, finely detailed images of saints, angels and the Holy Family conjure wonder and emanate pe