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Good Catastrophes and Renewing Catholic Literature
by Holly Ordway
January 9, 2015 8:00 am 8 Comments
Eucatastrophe: in a word, this is what we need today, for a renewed, vibrant, and compelling Catholic literature. The word, coined by J.R.R. Tolkien in his great essay “On Fairy-stories,” means “the good catastrophe”: the unexpected happy ending, the turn from sorrow to joy. Tolkien’s own great work The… Read more »
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When 256 Pages Can Say What 15,000 Pages Do Not Say
by James Casper
January 8, 2015 2:51 pm Leave a Comment
As recently reported in the media, the Chicago Archdiocese has released 15,000 pages of its files related to substantiated priest sexual abuse against minors. Previously, the Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota in response to legal action, released a large trove of similar records. While these public disclosures are good news,… Read more »
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From Novels to Movies Part 2: The Battle of the Five Senses
by Meryl Kaleida
January 5, 2015 1:06 pm 1 Comment
A few months ago I lamented over bad movie adaptations from books. I am always hopeful that some film director will suck me into their painfully accurate rendition of their favorite novel, but I am usually disappointed. I have had to train myself to view movies completely separate from their… Read more »
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On this seventh day of Christmas, with the stress of holiday visits fading and the new year hard ahead, I’d like to look at the recent metaphor, widely used, of a war on Christmas. It’s an idea touted in one venue and mocked in another. The idea is that overdeveloped… Read more »
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“Favorite? But I like too many things!” That was the response when I asked my five-year-old daughter what her favorite book was. I often feel the same way when people ask me for my top ten books or films. I like too many things: how can I put them in… Read more »
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As a child my family had the usual comforting Christmas rituals: watching It’s a Wonderful Life, listening to Handel’s Messiah, decorating the tree, baking cookies, wrapping presents. The licorice smell of anise-flavored springerle cookies, the taste of gingerbread, the sound of the voices as they announce the coming of the… Read more »
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Last night I went to see Kieślowski’s La Double Vie de Véronique (1991) at the cinema, thinking I had seen it many years before. However, I swiftly realized that I had seen only half of the first half, which is about a young Polish singer named Weronika. And I was sorry I… Read more »
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“I object to a quarrel because it always interrupts an argument.” —G. K. Chesterton As I write, a lot of Catholics are worried about the ongoing tussling about pastoral issues in the Church. Others are worried about what seems to be a growing partisan divide in America between those with… Read more »
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Need some Christmas gift ideas? Why not some of our novels? These reviewers think these books are great! Deacon Jim Russell had this to say about Roger Thomas’ The Accidental Marriage: “The new novel “The Accidental Marriage” (Ignatius Press) by Roger B. Thomas is not exactly a familiar portrait of… Read more »
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Mockingjay Part 1, the final installment of The Hunger Games series, opened this past weekend as the top selling movie in the box office. The adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s novel left something to be desired for both critics and fans alike. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of… Read more »