All it took the other day was hearing pop star Olivia Newton-John’s recording of the “Ave Maria” for Father Paul Zahl to feel that old, familiar tug at his heartstrings. Then came the voices in his head asking those nagging questions that many weary Episcopalians have pondered in recent decades: “Why keep fighting? Why not join the Roman Catholic Church?” Every now and then, Zahl feels another urge to “swim the Tiber.” This is somewhat problematic because he is dean... Read more
The candelabra should have eight candles in a straight line with a separate holder — usually high and in the middle — for the “servant” candle that is used to light the others. The purpose of Hanukkah menorahs is to publicize the miracle at the heart of the “Festival of Lights,” when tradition says a one-day supply of pure oil burned for eight days after Jewish rebels liberated the temple from their Greek oppressors. Thus, most families place their menorahs... Read more
St. Peter Damian was a man with a mission. The church reformer was appalled by the sexual immorality of his fellow clergy and their superiors, who often refused to warn the faithful and allowed the guilty to go unpunished. He condemned all sexual immorality, but especially the priests who abused boys after hearing their confessions. Damian poured his concerns into a volume called the Book of Gomorrah, which ended with an appeal to Pope Leo IX for reform. The year... Read more
Anyone who has looked at Christmas cards knows where to find Joseph in a typical manger scene. Just look for the humble, gray-haired man standing near the edge of the heavenly glow that surrounds Mary and the Christ child. In ancient Nativity icons, St. Joseph the Betrothed usually appears huddled in the foreground while Satan, in disguise, tempts him to doubt and despair. Joseph is a major character in this drama, yet he remains a mystery. While filming the movie... Read more
The players in studio power offices call it the “Passion Playbook.” At least, that’s what the Variety — holy writ in Hollywood — calls the slate of commandments that insiders are supposed to be following in order to reach the $612 million audience that backed “The Passion of the Christ.” Or was it the $744 million audience that embraced “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”? Whether or not a savvy consultant has produced an actual... Read more
It’s the kind of devil’s advocate question that Roman Catholic priests discuss when no one else is listening. How short do you have to make a Mass to appeal to parishioners who don’t want to get out of bed to go to Sunday Mass in the first place? Would more people attend if Mass was 40 minutes instead of 50? “There are priests who can do a weekday Mass in about 22 minutes and the people know that father has... Read more
It’s no surprise that Victoria Jackson watches “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” the latest slice-of-elite-life offering from Aaron “West Wing” Sorkin. After all, one of the main characters in this drama set inside a late-night sketch comedy show — a fictional West Coast version of “Saturday Night Live” — is Harriet Hayes, a blonde, female, singing comedian who is a born-again Christian. This got Jackson’s attention real quick. “I’m the only blonde, female, singing, born-again Christian comedian in the... Read more
Talk about bad timing. On the day after former Congressman Mark Foley entered an alcohol rehab program, his beleaguered staff received a package. With reporters watching, they unpacked a framed copy of one of his most famous pieces of legislation — a bill requiring a crackdown on sexual predators, including those who exploit minors online. And all the people said: “Hypocrite!” “It’s hard to talk about the Foley story without talking about hypocrisy,” said journalist Jeremy Lott, referring to the... Read more
Kim Paffenroth was 13 years old when filmmaker George A. Romero released “Dawn of the Dead,” so he knew he would need parental guidance to see the gory classic about flesh-eating, undead zombies and the shopping mall from hell. “I wasn’t really a horror movie fan,” he said, flashing back to 1979. “But for some reason I bugged my dad until he bought two tickets. He said, ‘OK, but I’m not sitting through that thing. Meet me outside when it’s... Read more
Church historian Vinson Synan has made 20 trips to Latin America while studying the explosive growth of Pentecostal Christianity and he believes that it’s time to state the obvious. “We’ve reached the point where you’re not going to be able to get along very well with many believers in the Third World unless you embrace the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” said Synan, who teaches at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. “You just can’t have a closed mind when... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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