An excited group of girls behind me—ages five to eight, I think, walking with their mothers: some of them dribbling, others flinging, handfuls of rose petals drawn from their little white baskets. Next the censers, wafting smoke, and then the Sacrament itself, in its monstrance: a great golden sun . . . . Continue Reading »
A few days ago, Amanda Shaw wrote about the Cistercian monks of the Sift Heiligenkruz whose chant CD hits US stores on Tuesday. Today’s New York Times had a nice article on their life. . . . . Continue Reading »
Three years ago, the Supreme Court handed down its atrocious Kelo decision, which allowed local governments to take private land if they believed it could be developed in a way advantageous to the local economy. Steven Malanga reviews the results on Real Clear Markets: Most Americans object to such . . . . Continue Reading »
The Washington Post has a review of The Lolita Effect , a book that focuses on the sexualization of young girls and asks what can be done about it. Based on the review, the book is solid when it comes to showing how this early sexualization hurts young girls and produces other social ills (child . . . . Continue Reading »
The Pew Forum has just released part II of its much-discussed US Religious Landscape Survey . The first report focused on religious affiliation, while the second stressed religious beliefs and practices, and social and political views. More commentary will follow in the coming weeks, but take a . . . . Continue Reading »
Fouad Ajami says in the Wall Street Journal that despite our many problems, and more polls showing how many people abroad dislike us, the promise of America still offers more freedom than any other place: “It is one thing to rail against the Pax Americana. But after the pollsters are gone, . . . . Continue Reading »
A few weeks ago a composer contacted us, wanting to know if we would be interested in reviewing his setting of the popular children’s book The Runaway Bunny to music à la “Peter and the Wolf.” It turns out that his concerto for violin, reader, and orchestra is . . . . Continue Reading »
In 1993 U2 wrote a song called “The Wanderer” for Johnny Cash, which they then recorded with him. The result is a haunting picture of a sinful man looking for God in the modern world, all in Cash’s rich baritone. If you’ve never heard it, watch the movie below. . . . . Continue Reading »
Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Patterson, NJ, in his diocesan newspaper The Beacon (via Whispers in the Loggia ), writes a sound defense of the proposed new translation of the Mass. Or more accurately, a sound defense of the spirit in which the translation was made: But there is something more at . . . . Continue Reading »
In yesterday’s Boston Globe , Jeff Jacoby writes of the the dangers of depopulation and of how having more people can help society. A sample: Like other prejudices, the belief that more humanity means more misery resists compelling evidence to the contrary. In the past two centuries, the . . . . Continue Reading »
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