By Matthew Sawczyn For all of us, these have been trying times. Our world is on standstill. Many are sick, or dying. Many are suffering financially. Many work tirelessly to ease the suffering of others. And most of us, thankfully, simpy wait; relatively unscathed, we nevertheless do our small part by staying at home: watching the news, counting the hours, …
7 Media Resources to Keep Holy Week Holy
– By Maria Andress – There’s no denying this Holy Week will be the strangest most of us have ever known. We’ll be live streaming Triduum liturgies, making our own home altars, and trying to figure out all the ways of staying tuned into the most sacred week in the Catholic calendar from inside our own houses. Of course, no …
My Thirty Days in the Shire
– By Maria Andress – “I am in fact A Hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees, and unmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and like good plain food (unrefrigerated), but detest French cooking; I like, and even dare to wear in these dull days, ornamental waistcoats. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field); have a …
Faith in the Time of COVID-19: What To Do When Your Church Is Closed
By James Powers I’ve been in kind of a bad mood lately. I expect you’ve been in kind of a bad mood as well, and for a lot of the same reasons. We’re all in this weird limbo where everything has turned upside-down, and yet the concrete result of all this upheaval is really anticlimactic. It has most of us …
Language Love – Around the World in Oscars Gold
By Matthew Sawczyn This month, the Academy Awards marked a moment in history for Hollywood and cinema: for the first time in its ninety-two year history, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded its coveted “Best Picture” award to an entirely non-English language film, Korean writer-director Bong Joon-ho’s tragicomedy Parasite. In honor of Parasite, here are five other …
‘Children Will Listen’: The Christian Wisdom of Stephen Sondheim
By Sam Hendrian “Careful the things you say/Children will listen/Careful the things you do/Children will see/And learn” –Into the Woods Solid parenting advice, for sure. This is just one set of lyrics from the vast catalogue of legendary stage composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who turns 90 next month. His wit and wisdom permeates some of Hollywood and Broadway’s greatest morality tales—West …
Should I #BoycottNetflix? (Part 1 of 2)
By James Powers Back around Christmas, there was a big furor about an incident of apparent blasphemy on Netflix. A comedy special called The First Temptation of Christ had recently premiered on the streaming service, and portrayed, well… a gay Jesus bringing his boyfriend home to meet the family, among other things. Oof. The film, produced by Brazilian comedy troupe …
Should I #BoycottNetflix? (Part 2 of 2)
By James Powers This post continues a 2-part series. Read Part 1 here. In my previous post, I fell down what proved to be a pretty deep rabbit hole by looking at the “Netflix problem” (which is actually a problem with most secular media in general) through the lens of Catholic moral tradition. Specifically, the tradition surrounding “cooperation in evil,” …
With ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, Can Star Wars Finally Leave the Past Behind?
By James Powers Disney has been trying to usher in a new era for Star Wars with The Mandalorian on Disney+, and it looks to end one this weekend with The Rise of Skywalker. The studio is anxious to make a good impression on audiences after a rather troubled past couple of years. But I’m unsure that either the franchise …
Dialogue and Dance: Seeking Understanding and Friendship in ‘The Two Popes’
– By Matthew Sawczyn – Adapted from the play The Pope by writer Anthony McCarten, Netflix’s awards season gem about an imagined meeting between Pope Benedict and the future Pope Francis actually begins with a third pope: the deceased Pope John Paul II. The bells toll mournfully over St. Peter’s Square, as news of the pontiff’s passing quickly spreads. The …