My Double Life
I never really knew what the word Catholic meant until I went to Stanford. In my previous Catholic school life it was never a label,…
read moreThe Best Part
A friend told me she’d given up negative thinking for Lent this year. “How hard could that be?” I thought. “Way easier than giving up…
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Recession-Proof Summer Fun
Get in Touch with Nature: Go for a hike It doesn’t matter if you live near the mountains — going for a hike, or a…
read moreLost in Museums
First there’s lights out, then there’s lock up. Masterpieces serving maximum sentences; It’s their own fault for being timeless. There’s a price you pay and…
read moreIn the Bones
Exploring the tension between faith and reason is just one of the many interesting elements of the television series, Bones, currently in its sixth season on Fox, and one that keeps me watching each week. The partners do more than just examine crimes, they inform each other and the viewers about the dichotomous worlds from which they approach life.
Booth, a former altar boy, attends Mass every Sunday but doesn’t put much thought into understanding his faith on a deeper level. He doesn’t need to be convinced to believe; he just does. Dr. Brennan, is the polar opposite. Being a forensic anthropologist, she believes that all things can be proven logically thus negating any need for a god. These partners hash out the faith vs. logic debate as they work together solving murders for the FBI.
read moreThere Be Dragons
For some, it will not be possible to separate the movie There Be Dragons from their views about Opus Dei, as it tells the story of that organization’s founder, St. JosemarÃa Escrivá. The majority of viewers, though — whose only awareness of Opus Dei is the absurd fictional albino killer monk in Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code — will find an inspiring and moving, if at times melodramatic and muddy, film about forgiveness and the choices people make in tough times.
read moreGaga and Judas
The video for Lady Gaga’s song “Judas” has premiered, ending weeks of speculation stirred up by several religious spokespeople who denounced it before seeing it. The video is set in a motorcycle gang; Jesus is the leader, Judas a thuggish member and Gaga is torn by her attraction to both. As a quick first reaction, I find it moving, both artistically and spiritually. What has always fascinated and frustrated me is the disconnect between the Gaga haters and what I, and some of my friends, see in her work. Many of my religious young adult friends love Gaga; most of the rest don’t have any serious problem with her. They understand what she’s trying to do, even if it isn’t their taste. This is true across Catholics, mainline Protestants and evangelicals. So, what is it about Gaga that excites one devout person and intimidates another?
read moreInterview: Charlie Cox
When I talked last week with Charlie Cox about his role as St. Josemaria Escrivá in the movie There Be Dragons (written and directed by…
read moreShowtime’s The Borgias
When legendary filmmaker George Cukor was asked what he thought about his 1935 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, he said if he could do it…
read moreFaith and College Ball
Half the fun of the World’s Fair is the train ride getting there. My dad frequently mutters this spiffy mantra to himself, having been in…
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