The Narthex

As we settle into Lent, let me recommend a good film about sin worth watching: Sven Nykvist’s 1991 film The Ox. The film is set in 1867 Sweden. Mid-19th century Sweden was not like wealthy, 21st-century Sweden. There is a reason Minnesota and North Dakota have as many Swedes and…

Here I begin experimenting with something new. I have long thought that film -- especially classic films -- often raises important religious and/or moral questions that deserve comment. I also think, given the bilge produced by the current “entertainment industry” (particularly in the U.S.), that many people are unfamiliar with…

As November begins, light or its lack becomes something of a focus. The American poet William Cullen Bryant described the end of October, leading into November, as when “suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief.” In England, bonfires traditionally illumined the hills on these days as the harvest…

Catholic World Report carries an article about Paolo Ruffini, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communications, who recently made a spirited defense of the Vatican’s ongoing use of Marko Rupnik’s art. His apologia came in remarks to press at the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta June 21. According to the…

The term “shock and awe” entered our lexicon during the 1990-91 Gulf War when the American-led coalition sought to eject Iraq after the latter’s invasion of Kuwait. “Shock and awe” referred to the coalition’s aerial bombardment prior to a tank and infantry assault. It was meant to demoralize the Iraqi…

Modern western Christians often like to persuade themselves that there is no real and personal Devil, but wishful thinking of that kind wouldn't wash with our Church Fathers and doesn't square with Gospel accounts of the Gadarene swine or of Jesus's own temptations in the wilderness. C.S. Lewis in his…

Your Catholic SAT Although many colleges have moved away from standardized tests like the SAT, in the name of “equity” and abandonment of academic standards, I believe they have value. One of the components of the SAT used to be a reading comprehension test. It tests for how closely one…

As undergraduates at St. Mary’s College in Orchard Lake, Michigan, we were required as part of our core curriculum to take a course in art and/or music, and “Introduction to Humanities” fulfilled the requirement. I’ll admit that, as a 19-year-old, I wasn’t excited about the class and it didn’t help…

The world of chess has a new champion, from China, and his name is Ding Liren. It’s easier to pronounce than that of his final round opponent, Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi. China sees the new champion as a hero, though chess was once dismissed as a frivolous pastime of the West…

The first few decades of Gothic Revival master Augustus Pugin's life were filled with activity and strain, and there would be more obstacles and tribulations. Pugin had periods of blindness. His second wife died. (He remarried. His third wife not only cared for his six children by his two previous…

Augustus Welby Pugin is in the news these days in the United Kingdom because he designed Big Ben, icon for the British nation, whose scaffolding has now come down after two years and will reopen this spring. Pugin (1812-1852; his French name is pronounced “PEW-jin”) was THE Gothic Revivalist. A…

I recently watched the 1997 Bruce Beresford film Paradise Road at home on DVD. As the standard of free-to-air TV continues to plummet gutterwards, I find the urge to fossick through our old disc collections grows all the stronger! Paradise Road is a triumph of the Australian film industry. It…

My nominee for the greatest songwriter of all time is King David of Israel (c. 1000 B.C.). There are 150 psalms in the Bible’s Book of Psalms. The psalms are songs; the title of the book refers to “instrumental music” or to the words accompanying music. Furthermore, there are inscriptions…

How would we answer the question “Who’s the greatest songwriter of all time?” For a moment let us revisit our musical past. What about Andrew Lloyd Weber (b. 1948) with his Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968; Broadway 1982), Jesus Christ Superstar (1970), Evita (1978), Cats (1981), and Phantom…