Topics

Things Fall Apart. By Chinua Achebe.

LITERATURE MATTERS

Michael S. Rose

Achebe centers on the clash of civilizations between his native Ibo culture and Christian missionaries who established colonial government in Nigeria.

The Ideology at the Root of Our Moral Disorder

MEET SOCIOLOGICAL MAN

Clifford Staples

In the sociological imagination, it is man who creates God. Once he frees himself from God, anything is possible, or at least appears to be.

Exotic Seed, Sown Deep in the Persian Dust

Jason M. Morgan

God leads us singly, according to our soul’s most intricate pathways, to the joy that we were born to know as unrepeatable individuals.

The Final Journey of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America & the Birthplace of St. Catherine Tekakwitha

PRELUDES & POINTS — PART II

Richard Upsher Smith Jr.

The missionaries' love enabled them to long for martyrdom for the salvation of souls.

On the Trail of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America & St. Catherine Tekakwitha

PRELUDES & POINTS — PART I

Richard Upsher Smith Jr.

Historians have to “get inside” their subjects if they are to understand and represent them well. 2,845 miles' worth of investigations are reported here.

A Tree Grows in St. Louis

ONE HOME IS A GATEWAY TO CATHOLICISM

Casey Chalk

A remarkable family and their little spiritual oasis in the Gateway to the West have become, as divine fate would have it, a gateway to Catholicism.

On Being at Once Catholic & Chinese

Jason M. Morgan

How much of Chinese daily and intellectual life, so utterly foreign to men from both Athens and Jerusalem, can be carried over into communion with Rome?

Dale Vree: A Remembrance

A LIFE UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Twelve writers offer recollections of Dale Vree in tribute to his mind, his character, and the impact he had on the American Catholic intellectual scene.

Dale Vree, R.I.P.

EDITOR OF NEW OXFORD REVIEW FOR 31 YEARS

Pieter Vree

With a heavy heart I announce the death of Dale Vree, my father and former editor of the NEW OXFORD REVIEW. He passed away peacefully on December 10.

The Strange Magnetism of Virtual Fisticuffs

REVERT'S ROSTRUM

Casey Chalk

What happens when a fairly obscure writer picks a fight with a Christian YouTube celebrity who has over 200,000 followers?

An Extraordinary Educator's Enduring Legacy

Christopher Beiting

A review by Christopher Beiting of Francis Bethel, O.S.B's book John Senior and the Restoration of Realism

Saving Pop

FROM THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS TO THE BOSOM OF ABRAHAM

Casey Chalk

At every step, what I wanted was for my grandfather to know and love Christ. What I expected that to look like changed and matured as I did.

The Truth About Claude Newman

MIRACLES, MEDALS & AUDIOTAPE

Ralph Frasca

The story of this repentant and reformed killer is an astounding tale of redemption and sacrifice that has inspired authors, playwrights, and filmmakers.

Newman in Italy: From Tourist to Pilgrim

WALKING BAREFOOT TO ST. PETER'S

Clara Sarrocco

Newman was both enchanted and perplexed by the new scenes and ceremonies he encountered, especially those related to the strange and exotic Catholic Church.

The Whole House

LIVING IN THE YARD WON'T DO

David Mills

The Catholic must, when he can, tell his Protestant friends that they should complete their faith by entering the Catholic Church.

From Murderer to Monk

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Clayton requested a "formal tie to the monastery" while in jail. He said he was already leading a monastic life and was eager for it to be embraced by the Church.

The Forgotten Martyr

JOSEPH CHIHWATENHA, HURON CATHOLIC

Clement Anthony Mulloy

Joseph Chihwatenha was a convert of the Huron tribe who helped the Jesuits and became the cornerstone of the emerging Huron Church.

Off the Beaten Path

GUEST COLUMN

Ray Cavanaugh

Kerouac said, “I am not ashamed to wear the crucifix of my Lord. It is because I am Beat, that is, I believe in beatitude and that God so loved the world that he gave his own begotten son to it.”

From the Thames to the Tiber

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

This large collection on notable British and Irish converts offers nearly a thousand entries, often with excerpts of writings by or about them, stating the motives for conversion.

The Extraordinary Ordinariate

In England, with the establishment of the or­dinariate, the effects of Pope Benedict's 2010 visit could be felt in concrete ways for years to come.

The Rhone to the Thames to the Tiber

EVANGELICAL, EPISCOPALIAN, CATHOLIC

Taylor Marshall

Chesterton's Journey to Orthodoxy

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Review of Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy: The Making of GKC 1874-1908 by William Oddie

The Anatomy of Conversion

FROM DEBATE TO DISCOVERY

David Mills

My (Somewhat Crooked) Path to the Monastery

CALL OF THE WILD

Abbot Joseph

Lifeboats on the Tiber

Anglican prelates are already dropping hints that they are seriously considering taking up Pope Benedict's offer to help them across the Tiber.

Liturgical Majesty & Solemnity

EDITORIAL

Dale Vree

From Protestantism to Catholicism, From the Novus Ordo Mass to the Tridentine Latin Mass

WAKING UP CATHOLIC

Michael Larson

Mohawk Virgin

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Review of Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits

Goodbye, Proud World, I’m Going Home

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Review of The Catholic Mystique edited by Jennifer Ferrara and Patricia Sodano Ireland

The Lure of Beauty

Dale Vree

Review of An American Conversion: One Man's Discovery of Beauty and Truth in Times of Crisis by Deal W. Hudson

Not-So-Blessed Martin

Chrysostom Frank

Review of There We Stood, Here We Stand: 11 Lutherans Discover Their Catholic Roots edited by Timothy Drake...

Roman Fever

AN ILLNESS OR AN INVITATION?

David Mills

Unspinning Newman

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Newman expressed negative views about a corporate reunion between Anglicans and Catholics; he valued real conversions more than such far-fetched schemes.

St. Monica: Mother, Wife & Homemaker as Saint

THE QUINTESSENCE OF WOMANHOOD

Mitchell Kalpakgian

Her character and life epitomize an ideal of sainthood essential for a modern world suffering a crisis of the family and the deconstruction of the home.

Adventure Stories

John C. Chalberg

A history of British “literary converts” is a story of spiritual inspiration over the course of the “age of unbelief” that constitutes the full run of the 20th century.

My Journey From Catholicism to Eastern Orthodoxy & Back

RETURNING TO THE BEDSIDE OF MY SUFFERING MOTHER

Frank Kimball

Many presume that Orthodoxy is merely Catholicism without a pope. This is not so.

A Spiritual Journey from Jerusalem to Rome

GOODBYE JUDAISM, FAREWELL SCIENTISM, HELLO CATHOLICISM

Jeff Morrow

My spiritual adventure, taken over the past dozen years, made stops in Shrewsbury to meet Darwin and in Wittenberg to see Luther.

The Catholic Sensibility of Allen Tate

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Tate was a critic, poet, novelist, and intellectual of the first rank. Neglect of his work today is due in large part to his conversion to Catholicism.

Conversion & the Psychology of Change

JESUS OF NAZARETH, MASTER PSYCHOLOGIST

Art & Larraine Bennett

An encounter with Jesus turns out to be often paradoxical and surprising, uncomfortable in the moment yet ultimately curative.

Converting the Pagans

John-Peter Pham

What happened during the thousand years from Constantine to Jogaila that made Europe Christian? And how did it work?

From Evangelical Anglican to Catholic

William J. Tighe

Since all that was valid about the “Reformation protest” has been accepted by the Church, it is time for Protestants to “come home.”

The Long Conversion of Oscar Wilde

"...THROUGH A BROKEN HEART MAY LORD CHRIST ENTER IN"

Andrew McCracken

The wittiest man of his time, who considered himself a "violent Papist," believed that, of all religions, Catholicism is the one worth dying in.

Why Attila the Hun Would Have Sacked a Protestant Rome

AN "INVISIBLE CHURCH" JUST DOESN'T HACK IT

Thomas Basil

Structural unity is the only type of oneness that is complete, visible, and credible to a nonbelieving world.

Confessions of a Cowardly Catholic

HEARING THE COCK CROW

Jeffrey Gordon

The question of a theology teacher’s basic attitude toward the Church is a deep one, and crucial.

Into Peter's Barque

NO LONGER MAKING UP MY OWN RELIGION

Thomas Storck

Reflections of a Seven-Year-Old Catholic

FROM NEW DELHI TO ROME

Bobby Jindal

Despite the best efforts of certain liberal Catholics to convince me otherwise, I sensed that Catholicism requires some form of submission.

Does God Want Everybody to Be Catholic?

IS ONE RELIGION BASICALLY AS GOOD AS ANOTHER?

Francis E. King

My Road from Gender Feminism to Catholicism

FROM "FEELINGS" TO OBJECTIVE TRUTH

Kimberley Manning

The New Surge of Converts to Rome from Protestantism

GETTING ORGANIZED

Kenneth J. Howell

On Growing Up Jewish & Becoming Catholic

WAS I GOING CRAZY?

Linda Dickey

Building a Fine Fire in the Fireplace

Dale Vree

Review of Surprised by Truth

Black Elk

Christopher T. Dodson

Review of Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala

The Lure of Catholicism

MERTON'S GENERATION & OUR OWN

Avery Dulles

Does It Take an Immigrant to Explain It to the Natives?

Dale Vree

A review of Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism

The Drama of the Oxford Movement

David Denton

Review of The Parting of Friends: The Wilberforces and Henry Man­ning

A Good Friday Convert

Guest Column

Rawley Myers

Orestes Explains It All for You

David Hartman

Review of Orestes A. Brownson: Selected Writings edited by Patrick W. Carey

Not Love in the Shallows

David Hartman

Review of Newman on Being a Christian by Ian Ker

Discovering Catholicism

GUEST COLUMN

James Prothero

An Odd Couple: Galbraith & Waugh

CHRIST AND NEIGHBOR

John C. Cort

On Ecumenism & the Amazing Unity of Catholics

GUEST COLUMN

Paul van K. Thomson

My Labyrinthine Quest for a Foundation on Which to Stand

THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE: THE CHURCH

Dan O'Neill

Evelyn Waugh & ‘The Bright Young Things’

James J. Thompson Jr.

Review of Evelyn Waugh: The Early Years by Martin Stannard

Heading Home to Love, Suffering, and Mercy

Raymond T. Gawronski, S.J.

Review of Mustard Seeds by L. Brent Bozell

The New Catholic

L. Brent Bozell

Review of The New Catholics edited by Dan O'Neill

Lay Vocation

GUEST COLUMN

Steffen Richards

Discovering the Church in Harvard Yard

A "POSITIVELY BIZARRE" CONVERSION

John C. Cort

Eating My Words: From Campus Crusade for Christ to Eastern Orthodoxy

GUEST COLUMN

Peter E. Gillquist

In the Footsteps of John Henry Newman

Dale Vree

Review of One Step Enough by Peter Cornwell

Gracious Sensibility, Ruthless Self-Examination

Thomas W. Case

Review of Fleeing the Whore of Babylon by James J. Thompson Jr.

Modern Martyrs

James G. Hanink

The drama of martyrdom, for both Edith Stein — philosopher, convert, Carmelite — and Jerzy Popieluszko — priest and patriot — commands our attention.

The Pilgrimage of a Former “Yuppie”

DRAWN TO THE SACRAMENTAL MYSTERIES

Peter K. Weiskel

“Catholic” means “including everybody.” Catholicism is both a sanctuary for adoration and contemplation, and an animator of political and social reconstruction.

A Wink of Heaven

MY STORMY ROAD…TO ROME

James J. Thompson Jr.

Before answering the question, “Why Rome?” I must respond to another: “Why not Takoma Park?” (Takoma Park, Maryland, is the world headquarters of Seventh-Day Adventism.)

Beyond Fundamentalism & Cultural Captivity

REORIENTING EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTISM

Richard V. Pierard

The blossoming of Christian Rightist organiza­tions in the mid- and late 1960s made me increas­ingly nervous about the injurious effect of politi­cal conservatism on evangelicalism.

The Gift of Thomas Merton

HARVARD DIARY

Robert Coles

Merton was a constantly changing person, and years in the monastery did nothing to stop that process, for all the enclosing, demanding steadiness of the monastic routine.

Fleeing from the Whore of Babylon

GROWING UP “ANTI-CATHOLIC”

James J. Thompson Jr.

Flesh-and-blood Cath­olics I met proved to be generous and kind people who had no desire to gobble up little Prot­estant boys.

Speaking Heart To Heart

EDITORIAL

Dale Vree

We aspire to no exclusivist, triumphalist, inquisitorial, or truculent “Catholicism.” We will continue to be ecumenical in spirit and aspiration, a meeting ground for Christians.

My Pilgrimage

COMING HOME TO THE CHURCH

Juli Loesch

When the Mass was trans­lated into English, I noticed right away how often it says “Peace”: it’s repeated over and over again, like a heartbeat, clear through.

On Becoming Roman Catholic

EDITORIAL

Dale Vree

Agreed Statement on the Separation of the NEW OXFORD REVIEW from the American Church Union

EDITORIAL

Edith Stein’s Cross

HARVARD DIARY

Robert Coles

The proud and talented scholar threw herself gladly, ecstatically at His feet, He of the Cross, He whose Cross had become her cross.