Saints

Tripp Hudgins 7-09-2012

"If you tell a lie, it will be all over the country in a day or two. But if you tell the truth, it will take ten years to get there." ~ Eddie "Son" House

And the truth is what Jesus offered the people of his hometown in this tale from Mark's Gospel. Jesus offered his prophetic witness of truth-telling. He held up a mirror and showed them who they were. He held up a mirror and said to them, "The Kingdom of God is with you."

They were enraged that one of their own would do such a thing.
He was utterly astonished that the people who had raised him were incapable of facing their own truth.

He also knew that if they could not face the realities of their own complicated lives they would not be able to embrace the healing and forgiveness that God offered.

Jesus had the blues. He had the hometown blues.

So, rejected, he fled his hometown.

Then he sent his apostles out into the world proclaiming peace, healing the sick and the lame, and prepared to face the same rejection. People don't like to be reminded of the complications of real life. None of us like the feeling of being judged when the mirror is held up before us.

the Web Editors 6-13-2012
The Madonna as Catwoman by Igor Scalisi Palminteri via Facebook.

The Madonna as Catwoman by Igor Scalisi Palminteri via Facebook.

Italian artist Igor Scalisi Palminteri is fascinated by religion — and superheroes, apparently. In a series of statuary called "Agiographie," Palminteri reimangines traditional images of Jesus, the Holy Family, and the saints as, variously, Superman, Captain America, Batman and Robin, and The Incredibles.

See more of Palminteri's superhero-saints inside the blog ...

Tripp Hudgins 4-19-2012
Earth Day illustration, kabby/Shutterstock.com

Earth Day illustration, kabby/Shutterstock.com

In City Journal, Pascal Bruckner has written an interesting essay critiquing "secular elites" and their (our?) predilection for an apocalyptic vision without redemption. He calls it the apocalyptic daze, a love for the cataclysmic and states that it's shaping our politics. Interesting stuff to read as Earth Day approaches. He writes: 

My point is not to minimize the dangers that we face. Rather, it is to understand why apocalyptic fear has gripped so many of our leaders, scientists, and intellectuals, who insist on reasoning and arguing as though they were following the scripts of mediocre Hollywood disaster movies.

His is not a critique of the science of environmentalism but one of the rhetoric of the politics surrounding it.

Annalisa Musarra 3-09-2012
Assorted Christian saints images, Wiki Commons; illustration by Cathleen Falsani

Assorted Christian saints images via Wiki Commons; illustration by Cathleen Falsani

As college basketball fans prepare for March Madness, a holier tournament already has Christians rooting and cheering this Lenten season.

For three years running, "Lent Madness" has taken to the Internet as a competition between Episcopal saints in a single-elimination bracket tournament resembling the one followed by March Madness fans.

This Lenten devotional, first created by the Rev. Tim Schenck on his blog, "Clergy Family Confidential," allows readers to learn about and vote for the saints presented daily on the website, with the winning saints moving closer to the coveted prize of the Golden Halo.

"I was looking for a fun way to embrace the Lenten season," said Schenck, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Hingham, Mass.

"Lent doesn't have to be all doom and gloom," said Schenck. His goal, he says, is to help people "connect with the risen Christ during this season" and to "have a bit of fun in the process."

Rose Marie Berger 2-01-2008
During Lent, we think about the saints who listened in the night.

Soft Saints, Inc., purveyor of positive role models for today’s youth in the form of plush dolls, makes it possible to cuddle with a 15th-century purveyor of divine wisdom–the “Ma

Rose Marie Berger 2-01-2006

Robert Ellsberg is an editor’s editor.

Jim Forest 1-01-2005

Book Review: Dorothy Day: Portaits by Those Who Knew Her (Orbis Books: 2003).

Rose Marie Berger 7-01-2000
Can we canonize Dorothy Day and serve the poor too?
Bob Hulteen 11-01-1998

An inordinate number of family members, friends, and friends’ family members have died in the last month.