Where a lot of Catholic Christmas hymns lean into the more fantastical elements—angels, stars, kings—“In the Bleak Midwinter” points us instead to the ordinary.

A Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, by Jim McDermott, S.J.

“Downstate,” Bruce Norris’s new off-Broadway play about a group home for pedophile, raises the question: Who gets to write about pedophilia? And what are they allowed to say?

Jesuit missionary Jacques de Brébeuf worked with the Indigenous Huron people for years and wanted to give the people a carol of their own, in their own language.

I typed “Why does God…” into Google to see what would auto-populate. The question, “Why does God hate me?” was number three on the list.

Who is this King Wenceslas fella? What makes him good? And why does he merit a song at Christmas?

In “Andor,” Tony Gilroy paints the Empire at its most oppressive. Surveillance has become near total: Anyone can be found almost anywhere.

A Reflection for Tuesday of the First Week of Advent, by Jim McDermott, S.J.

If you’re looking at Turkey Day with a certain amount of apprehension, here are a few tips from Jesuit life that we’ve found help make things not only manageable but sometimes unexpectedly great.

In the face of a changing climate and polarized politics, the people of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Cut Off, La., have learned to trust in God’s care and the care of one another.