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Many of us have heard expressed the formulaic regret by someone declining to attend an event: “Though I can’t be there, I’ll be there with you in spirit!” Two reactions usually occur to us who receive such a reply: 1 That’s unfortunate. 2 Whatever the phrase “there in spirit” means, they probably won’t be present in spirit either. We human beings are body and soul. It is our dignity to combine the two orders of creation: matter and spirit. Angels are pure spirit, animals are matter, but the human person gloriously unites both orders in our one person. For the human person, physical presence is important because we are not disembodied energy and while absences are sometimes necessary, it is usually thought of as less than ideal when we “phone it in” or go virtual. Many people forget that th...

On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis gave remarks to artists on the importance of beauty, particularly “on art and its role at this critical moment in our history.” He notes three movements of beauty and its role in our current crisis, while citing the example of the nativity scene: We can speak of artistic creation in terms of three “movements”.  A first movement has to do with the senses, which are struck with wonder and amazement.  This initial, outer movement then leads to others, more profound. A second movement touches the depths of our heart and soul.  A composition of colours, words or sounds has the power to evoke within us memories, images and emotions… Yet artistic creation does not stop here.  There is a third movement...

In 1656, Oliver Cromwell, then lord protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, canceled Christmas. Legislation was enacted to ensure that every Sunday was strictly observed as the Lord’s Day, but shops and markets were ordered to stay open on Dec. 25. Soldiers patrolled the streets with orders to seize any food discovered being prepared for Christmas celebrations.  Some five centuries later, the Puritan in 2020 would have felt very much at home, and not just in England, but across the world, as public displays of the great Christian feast are canceled, downplayed or quietly forgotten by many.  Whether in France, the United Kingdom or Canada, governments have issued strict regulations that will curtail the traditional Christmas celebrations for so many familie...

Life at the Poor Clare Convent at Arundel in Sussex, England, is one of prayer, work, silence and solitude.  Unexpectedly, the religious community has now become a chart-topping sensation with the release of its debut CD, Light for the World.  That album has now spent an astonishing six weeks at the No.1 spot in the U.K. “Specialist Classical” chart. In addition, the album is enjoying classical chart success internationally, reaching No. 3 in Belgium and No. 5 in Canada; it also hit No. 9 on the overall iTunes albums chart in Germany and No. 6 on the Amazon U.S. “Bestsellers” chart. This overwhelming response from the public has come of something as a surprise to the community. One of the nuns, Sister Gabriel Davison, said, “We are thrilled that our music has touched the hearts o...

Detail of St. Joseph with the Infant Jesus, c. 1620s, by Guido Reni. (Public domain/via Wikimedia) St. Joseph in all the crèche scenes can help. Remember that Eighties’ song “I Need a Hero”? This whole year has been quite the exercise in longing for one. That’s why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Time thinks they have one there — and I suspect it’s actually Harris. Meanwhile, the fact of the matter is that the kind of salvation people are looking for does not come from politics, and yet still we try. That this is folly is clear in so many ways. Consider the irrational, evil, anger — the kind that loots electronics stores and makes it impossible to communicate in any kind of constructive or respectful manner — and other miseries, but here we are. Advert...

One of the riveting themes within the Star Wars saga is the existence of monasticism. The Jedi Knights are also monks. Connecting with the warrior monks of Eastern religions, they also connect with the religious orders of knights in medieval Christendom. The Jedi clearly  remind of the spiritual truths of the New Testament where St Paul says “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Throughout the Star Wars saga it is made clear that beneath all the swordplay and swooping starships a spiritual struggle is taking place. The “dark side” and the “light side” of the force are in conflict. The chemistry of movies means that as the heroes are swept up into the spiritual battle we participate with them. We come out of the film showing realizin...