THE REAL PEACE BROKERS IN THE HOLY LAND My friend, Zoe Romanowsky has an interesting piece on Godspy about the Christian community in the Holy Land. Check it out here. Read more

“WHY DO THE HEATHEN RAGE?” I’m back in CT with my family for a few days. They all saw The Passion on Ash Wednesday, and are still recovering from it. Nobody is ready to talk about the movie yet. They don’t want to hear me opine about the film’s cinematography and its use of imagery and its editing. They are still in a place of profound sadness. When I pressed my sister Alison for her experience of the film, she... Read more

MORE ME ON THE PASSION Here is a link to more excerpts of the piece I wrote on the movie for the St. Austin Review. Read more

PREPARING FOR THE PASSION I don’t have any idea what the non-Christian world is going to do with The Passion of the Christ. From the day I saw it back in June, I have been brooding over how much the film could do in the Church. In my most disconcerted moments of watching the unfolding cultural discourse, the film seems to me to be a preparation for persecution. It’s like Joan of Arc asking for someone to hold up a... Read more

LATE TO THE PARTY I’m adding several sites to the blogroll – basically so I can stop having to go into this sites archives or else Amy’s, Eve’s or Mark’s place list to get there three times a day….Although, any excuse to drop in on Amy, Mark and Eve is always welcome. (ahem.) Notably… Get Religion, by Terry Mattingly and friends. Very astute and far-reaching — even for non-Catholics! (heh heh heh heh…I’m funny.) Friend, Kale Zelden’s Unmitigated Blatherskite…I had... Read more

THE BIZ STARTS TO FEEL THE RUMBLE…. Yesterday’s Variety reports: Responding to increased demand from exhibitors, Icon and Newmarket said yesterday that they now plan to distribute more than 4,000 prints of Passion, up from the 2,500 previously announced. The increase reflects the expanding number of theaters that will show the pic on multiple screens. Also, the number of theaters has recently been increased to 2,800 up from the original 2,000…. Newmarket chief Bob Berney, “A lot of what we’re... Read more

BIRTHDAY AS THANKSGIVING Today’s my birthday. It’s always hard being so far from home on my birthday because our family had so many Mom-centered rituals for making sure we knew we were special and loved. It seems to me birthdays are mostly backward in the way we celebrate them. They should be days first of all for someone to look at his or her life and give thanks for all the people who have “birthed” some good in the journey.... Read more

NOT TO BE DISMAYED! CATHOLICS AND THE MOVIE My friend, Matt Pinto, sent me the following good news about a venture with which he is involved. I am glad some Catholics somewhere are finally doing something except “circumspection as an art form” as regards this movie. Two weeks ago, Catholic Exchange and Ascension Press (my press) launched Catholic Passion Outreach (www.evangelization.com) . The response has been through the roof: 250,000 web visits last week, thousands of Catholics contacting us to... Read more

WHAT I WOULD DO WITH A LOT OF MONEY At a dinner the other night, someone (who is probably tired of hearing me whine about the fact that I hate perpetually having to raise funds for Act One) asked me, “If you had a hundred million dollars, what would you do with it?” Like it’s a surprise question. Every non-profit with a vision worth its salt spends many bemused hours imagining what it would be like to be a ministry... Read more

SOMETIME IN THE NEXT DAY OR SO… this blog will be visited by its 100,000th visitor! Our staff is working on showering whomever you are with virtual balloons and flowers. I think that is even better than coming in third in the St. Blog’s Awards….yeah, I do. REALLY. WHEE FOR ME!…. Whe……..Wh……..W… Read more