Culture
‘For Greater Glory’ movie review
NEW YORK (CNS) — “Viva Cristo Rey!” “Long live Christ the King!” Such was the rallying cry of the Cristeros — devout Mexican Catholics driven into open, sometimes violent, opposition to their government during the1920s by its policy of persecution against the church. This pious exclamation also serves as the stirring refrain of the powerful […]
‘Offering of the Angels’ exhibition presented at Michener Museum in Doylestown
It has to be one of the greatest exhibitions of Renaissance and Baroque sacred art ever presented in the Philadelphia area, and it is a must see at the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, running through Aug. 12. “Offering of the Angels,” drawn from the collections at the famed Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, […]
Test screening of ‘A Rose on Ninth Street’ will be held June 13
Joseph Ruggiero knows how to make his dreams come true. He wanted to write a book and he wrote it. “A Rose on Ninth Street,” published in 2002, follows the story of a South Philadelphia hoodlum and the young woman he loves — and whose father he’s out to murder. Happy but still hunting for […]
Capsule movie reviews
NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service. “Battleship” (Universal) Feel-good nonsense about a rowdy naval officer (Taylor Kitsch) who has to grow up fast when he’s called upon to save the world from a seemingly invincible force of invading aliens. He’s aided, initially, by his […]
Priest shared life’s wisdom with former student
“Green Bananas: the Wisdom of Father Bill Atkinson” really sounds like a weird title for a book about a deceased priest. You have to know the context. As author Steve McWilliams explains in his introduction, when Father Atkinson was approached by Villanova University to receive an honorary degree and speak, he wrote back, “I never […]
Archbishop’s new book sees ‘the next America’
Archbishop Charles Chaput’s 2008 book “Render Unto Caesar” was, in his own words, “about the importance of Catholics witnessing their faith vigorously in public life — not simply as a matter of good citizenship, but also as an obligation to the Gospel.” Now in a shorter eBook, “A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the […]
Imago Arts: Philadelphia’s new urban music and arts studio
Anja Eltgroth sat in dim candlelight and held up the rosary she created out of abandoned roses. “This is the beginning of the Imago Arts studio,” she said. “This rosary is a symbol of how Christ can take anything and make of it something more beautiful than we can imagine.” Discarded Valentine’s Day roses make […]
Exhibit highlights Tanner’s artistry, religious subject matter
The two paintings look vaguely similar, as they should. The larger is well known and often reproduced. It is Henry Ossawa Tanner’s L’Annunciation, painted in 1898. In it Mary, who is neither blond-haired or blue- eyed, is listening gravely and intently as the Angel Gabriel tells her of her sublime destiny to be the Mother […]
Capsule movie reviews
By Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service. “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (Warner Bros.) Devastated by the sudden loss of his devoted father (Tom Hanks), a victim of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, an introverted grade schooler (Thomas Horn) sets out […]
Blessed Mirth
The old Baltimore Catechism set us straight right off the bat in first grade. The answer to question number four: “God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” In plain words, life is serious stuff; the happiness comes […]