In keeping with our longstanding custom every December we recommend an illustrated gift book or a special-edition work to our club members This month it is Art of the Cr egrave che Nativities From Around the World by James L Govan For more details on this book see my piece called Deck the Shel

Christmas reading recommendations from our literary editor.

A year ago this month in a one-room schoolhouse in the small Amish community called Nickel Mines Lancaster County Pa an otherwise peaceful and idyllic setting was pierced with the ring of gunfire The shooter the father of three was allegedly angry with God over the death of his newborn fi

Caring for all God's creatures

Emeritus president of the University of Rochester whose previous books include The Idea of a Catholic University Dennis OBrien poses three questions in his provocative new book Finding the Voice of the Church Is there a voice of Christian faith Can what is said about our faith be distorted by h

Where have all the book reviews gone?

"One a of the lessons we all must learn if we are to survive spiritually and psychologically is how to leave behind what is unnecessary and travel light. Wise counsel, this, from Robert J. Wicks, a professor at Loyola College of Maryland and the author of some 40 general and professional books. His

The popular refrain "Everything old is new" again seems to characterize increasing segments of book publishing since the turn of the millennium. Thanks to Loyola Classics, for example, a character named Mr. Blue, a contemporary Francis-esque gallant monk without an Order has emerged from a

For as long as I can remember, a nearly two-foot-tall statue of the Sacred Heart has stood atop my mother’s bedroom dresser. I occasionally wondered whether there was a story to go with it, but never asked. It seemed odd to this child that people would place such a statue in their home. A rect

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) wore many hats throughout his illustrious lifetime: teacher, preacher, bishop, orator, writer, fund-raiser for missions abroad, convert-maker, radio personality, television star. And perhaps some time in the future, if the incipient cause takes root, there will