News in Youth

‘The Milk of Dreams’ – The 59th Venice Art Biennale

‘The Milk of Dreams’ – The 59th Venice Art Biennale

by: Friedhelm Mennekes, SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Expressions,

The curator of the 59th Venice Art Biennale, Cecilia Alemani (born 1977 in Milan), lives with her family in New York. Like her husband, Massimiliano Gioni, she is an art director and currently curates exhibitions in New York, where she has led the brilliant High Line Art program since 2011. At the same time, also in New York, she has broadened her experience in artwork for public and unusual spaces, both commissioning and producing. The 2022 Venice Biennale involved many female artists from all over the world. 

From Simon the Fisherman to Peter the Fisher of Men

From Simon the Fisherman to Peter the Fisher of Men

by: Marc Rastoin, SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

Simon Peter is a key figure in the New Testament. He was present for many stages of the establishment of the canon. It seems he wrote nothing during his lifetime, but many other Christians wrote about him. How did this fisherman from Galilee come to die a martyr’s death in the capital of the Roman Empire? Let us try to retrace some key episodes of his journey.

Offer to pray for people in distress during Lent, says cardinal Vincent

Offer to pray for people in distress during Lent, says cardinal Vincent

by: Ruth Gledhill - The Tablet in Activities,

In a pastoral letter to parishes last weekend, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has urged parishioners to use the weeks of Lent to refresh and deepen their faith. “A faith that is refreshed and deepened helps us to be gracious, steadfast and even robust in every circumstance,” he said, outlining three ways to renew faith. 

OUR OVER-BURDENED PLANET

OUR OVER-BURDENED PLANET

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

Creating the human race may be the single biggest mistake that evolution made. Douglas Abrams writes this in The Book of Hope, a book he co-authored with Jane Goodall. While that is a rather despairing view, in the end, this book is a book of hope, though not without it issuing a dire warning: There are now over eight billion people on this planet and already we are using up nature’s limited resources faster than nature can replace them. In less than thirty years from now, there will probably be ten billion of us and if we carry on with business as usual, that could spell the end of the earth as we know it.

To Fall in Love

To Fall in Love

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

To fall in love! We use the expression to cover many things. You can fall in love with a baby, a sports team, a city, a job, or another person. However, we reserve the prime analogate for this expression for one thing, emotional infatuation, that intoxicating feeling we first get when we meet someone who we sense as a soulmate.

Enheduanna: The world's first named author

Enheduanna: The world's first named author

by: BBC Nov 16 2022 in Activities,

A little-known Mesopotamian poet and priestess, Enheduanna, is the subject of a new exhibition in New York. Diane Cole explores her influence – and looks at how she helped create a common system of beliefs throughout the ancient empire. She was the first author to be named in all recorded history: the Mesopotamian poet, princess, and priestess Enheduanna. Surprised? 

The Cardinal Virtues: Pillars of the good life

The Cardinal Virtues: Pillars of the good life

by: Giovanni Cucci, SJ - La Civilta Cattolica in Activities,

 Before dealing with the individual cardinal virtues, I had the opportunity to address the subject of the deadly vices. It was clear to see the great interest in  the themes, especially as found among the humanities, philosophy, art, literature and spirituality. Such a multiplicity of approaches is an indication of the richness and complexity of human actions. 

Popes John XXIII and Francis: Two ‘Men in Dark Times’

Popes John XXIII and Francis: Two ‘Men in Dark Times’

by: Andreas Lind, SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Activities,

Published in 1968, the book Men in Dark Times still has something to say in our time. Hannah Arendt wrote it long ago, it is true, and the work consists of a collection of essays devoted to people who lived most of their lives during the first half of the last century, with the exception of Gotthold Lessing.

How Serious is Laughter?

How Serious is Laughter?

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

In a homily, Karl Rahner once commented that in the Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes a rather stunning statement. He says, ‘blessed are you who are now weeping, for you shall laugh’. Rahner suggests that Jesus is teaching that our final state of happiness in heaven will not just lift us out of our sadness and dry away our tears, it will bring us to laughter, to “an intoxication of joy.” Laughter is integral to the final ecstasy.