Arts
Year of Faith cinema
In Porta Fidei (The Door of Faith), an apostolic letter announcing the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI urges us to study the history of Catholicism, which he describes as “marked by the unfathomable mystery of the interweaving of holiness and sin.”
Stained glass finishes Jesus’ story
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga is planning to build what may be the biggest stained glass window of the resurrected Christ in Canada.
The Hobbit and its Gospel ethics
Like Star Wars, The Divine Comedy and Moby Dick, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is the story of a hero’s journey. This helps to explain, of course, why, like those other narratives, it has proved so perennially compelling.
Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty (Columbia) offers moviegoers a challenging account, based on real events, of the decade-long hunt for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
Quebec nun, 96, hits Japan’s big time
One of the best-selling Canadian authors alive over the last four months has been a 96-year-old nun who lives in Chofu City, Tokyo, and teaches women’s Bible study classes.
Steve Bell gives a different Christmas perspective
In Keening for the Dawn: Christmastide, Steve Bell combines the Christmas theme with his folksy sound and a soft country touch.
Les Misérables makes the transition from stage to screen
Once thought unfilmable, the musical classic of Les Misérables has transcended the stage onto the silver screen.
New play explores the Nativity's mysteries
Toronto - Madhuri Ramadeen credits a Christmas play from her childhood for bringing her to Christ.
Handel’s Messiah stands the test of time
TORONTO - Christmas celebrations are heralded by the senses, and none more so than sound, with music at the heart of almost all of our seasonal memories. Think Bing Crosby crooning “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” or Judy Garland rending heart strings everywhere with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — it doesn’t get more quintessentially “Christmas-time” than that.
Getting to the heart of The Story
TORONTO - Through a cold, foggy night at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, the scent of pine and smoke from a bonfire cut through like a crisp reminder of the very Canadian setting for a very old and beloved story.
Children's books: Space, bugs, saints, humor and more
WASHINGTON - The following children's books are suitable for Christmas giving:
In search of the wines from biblical times
TORONTO - In Divine Vintage: Following the Wine Trail from Genesis to Modern Times, authors Randall Heskett and Joel Butler ask not what would Jesus do but rather what wine would Jesus drink?