Alejandro Iñárritu’s new film The Revenant is one of the most talked about movies, and for good reason.
The opening 20 minutes, which feature a frighteningly realistic Indian attack and a horrifically vivid mauling by a grizzly bear, are absolutely compelling viewing. And the remainder of the film is so involving that this viewer at least felt physically sick as he followed the sufferings of the main character.
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| Morgan Smith |
The other day, I was watching an orchestra concert. I was moved by the beauty of the music, but even more struck by the intricate harmony of the instruments as the musicians played them in communion with one another.
I reflected upon the unity it takes to play in an orchestra. Every instrument is essential — individually beautiful — but essential to the sound and wholeness of a piece of music. Each instrument is different. Even among a group of the same instruments, say the violins, there are variations in the sounds and colors of each individual. (Marks of their creator.)
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Q We lost my mom a few months ago and although my dad has been managing better than I expected on his own, I wonder if there are any home improvement tips or modifications that would make living alone easier for him?
The home is a small two-story and he stays on the first floor which has all the essential living spaces: kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room.
Since I am an only child and live over two hours away from him, I don’t want to overlook anything that might help him stay independent. He has low vision and has had one hip replaced but other than that is in good health.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an American federal holiday that marks the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January, which is around Dr. King’s birthday, January 15. This year it is observed on January 18.
In his speech to Congress in September of 2015, Pope Francis lifted up four Americans who worked for social justice. They were two non-Catholics, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., and two Catholics, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Crux columnist John L. Allen Jr. called them the pope’s “Fantastic Four” who stood up for the poor.
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Addiction can be extremely harmful, and in some cases, fatal for those individuals ensnared by it. It can be seriously disruptive and damaging to those around them.
Who is to blame when it comes to addiction? Family and friends may think to themselves, “Why can’t Jane just stop drinking?” Or, “Doesn’t Joe understand that his gambling addiction is bankrupting the family?” Or, “Can’t Bob see how his pornography habit is destroying his marriage and his relationships?”
For those facing addiction, it seems they ought to be able to recognize their behavior as harmful and turn away from it by a resolute decision. Family and friends, however, can face years of frustration when they see their loved ones fall into a slow motion “crash and burn,” spiraling downwards as they remain unwilling or unable to step away from their addiction.
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Like so many others around the world, I was overjoyed to hear of the recent decision of the Vatican to canonize Mother Teresa, a woman generally recognized, during her lifetime, to be a “living saint.”
Mother Teresa first came to my attention through Malcolm Muggeridge’s film and attendant book, Something Beautiful for God. Of course. Muggeridge showed Mother’s work with the dying and the poorest of the poor on the streets of Kolkata, but what moved me the most were the images of the saint’s smile amidst so much squalor and suffering. She was a very bright light shining in exceptionally thick darkness.
Mother’s life reveals so many aspects and profiles of holiness, but I would like to focus on three of them.
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| Ask IPS |
QUESTION: “Especially as the cold settles in this winter, I want to reach out to the homeless in my community. At the same time, this is outside of my comfort zone and I’m afraid of being asked to take on burdens that I’m not ready for. What is a good balance to strike?”
RESPONSE: Sarah Lowrey, M.S. Student at the IPS Center for the Psychological Services
How beautiful that you want to serve and make a difference in your community!
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This year marks the 750th anniversary of the birth of the great Catholic poet Dante Alighieri. Michelangelo reverenced Dante, as did Longfellow, Dorothy Sayers, and T.S. Eliot. In fact, it was Eliot who commented, “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third.”
One of Bob Dylan’s finest songs, “Tangled Up in Blue,” contains a reference to Dante: “She opened up a book of poems, handed it to me/It was written by an Italian poet from the 13th century/And every one of those words rang true and glowed like burning coal/Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul.”
A small business manager asked employees, who wished, to write out their New Year’s resolutions. He promised to post them by lunchtime on the bulletin board. It sounded like fun.
When the resolutions were posted, the employees gathered eagerly around the bulletin board. Suddenly one employee began to complain angrily to everyone there that her resolution wasn’t posted. She griped that she felt left out again.
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| Beth Ulaszek |
In conjunction with the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this past September, the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Madison is providing a monthly series on a particular theme on marriage and family. Each theme is a chapter in the preparatory catechesis developed for the event entitled Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive, available in paperback from www.osvparish.com or for free online at www.worldmeeting2015.org
