Father Ambrose Hessling, OSB
PERU — A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Jan. 4 at St. Bede Abbey Church here for Father Ambrose (Bernard) Hessling, OSB, a monk and priest of St. Bede Abbey. Father Ambrose died Saturday evening, Dec. 31, 2016. He was 85. Abbot Philip Davey, OSB, of St. Bede presided at the funeral liturgy. Interment […]
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Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck star in a scene from the movie "Manchester by the Sea." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Roadside)
By Catholic News Service A man (Casey Affleck) crushed by tragedy returns to his hometown on the coast of Massachusetts to become the guardian of his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges) in a gently paced and emotionally wrenching drama from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan (“You Can Count on Me”). Flawless performances, a revelatory flashback structure, and a […]
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Liam Neeson stars in a scene from the movie "Silence." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Paramount)
By Catholic News Service Dramatically powerful but theologically complex adaptation of Catholic author Shusaku Endo’s 1966 fact-based historical novel about two 17th-century Jesuit missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) in Japan. Shocked by rumors that their mentor in the priesthood (Liam Neeson) has renounced the faith under persecution, they voluntarily leave the safety of Europe […]
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Russell Hornsby and Viola Davis star in a scene from the movie "Fences." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Paramount)
By Catholic News Service Much suffering mingles with brutal honesty and joy in unexpected moments in the first screen adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1983 play. Denzel Washington stars as an embittered Pittsburgh garbage collector; he also directs from the screenplay finished by Wilson before his 2005 death. The long speeches will require a […]
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Tim Irwin
By Tim Irwin Sunday, Dec. 25/Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) At the Vigil Mass: Isaiah 62:1-15 Psalm 89:4-5,16-17,27,29 Acts 13:16-17,22-25 Matthew 1:1-25 Mass During the Night: Isaiah 9:1-6 Psalm 96:1-2,2-3,11-12,13 Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14 Mass at Dawn: Isaiah 62:11-12 Psalm 97:1,6,11-12 Titus 3:4-7 Luke 2:15-20 Mass During the Day: Isaiah 52:7-10 […]
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This depiction of the Nativity is from a stained glass window at St. Mary Church in Canton. The Catnton faith community will not see the window this Christmas because the church remains closed for repair following the Nov. 16 deadly natural gas explosion in the city's downtown. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
Christmas, 2016 “Glory to God in the highest and PEACE to His people on earth!” My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: On every great feast day and on almost every Sunday of the year, the song of the Christmas angels’ echoes down the ages in the Church’s sacred liturgy. As we celebrate the almost […]
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Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in a scene from the movie "Passengers." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Columbia)
By Catholic News Service Science fiction becomes the springboard for a study of selfishness, sin and the possibility of forgiveness that will resonate with romantics but may leave others cold. After he wakes up from hibernation 90 years prematurely, and discovers that there is no way to get back into suspended animation, an engineer (Chris […]
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This is a publicity image from the animated movie "Sing." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Universal)
By Catholic News Service Generally amiable but flawed musical cartoon, populated mostly by animals, in which the koala bear owner (voice of Matthew McConaughey) of a failing theater aims to revive his business by staging a singing contest. The quintet of finalists in the competition comprises a conceited mouse (voice of Seth MacFarlane) who croons […]
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Michael Fassbender and James Sobol Kelly star in a scene from the movie "Assassin's Creed." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS/Fox)
By Catholic News Service Though the mayhem that pervades this adaptation of a popular series of video games is mostly bloodless, other more unusual problems render it unacceptable for all. After being unexpectedly saved from execution by a secretive organization (Marion Cotillard plays one of its officials), a criminal (Michael Fassbender) gets filled in, along […]
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Natalie Portman, center, stars in a scene from the movie "Jackie." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Fox)
By Catholic News Service A mesmerizing performance by Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, reflecting on loss while building the Camelot myth in the weeks following President John Kennedy’s (Caspar Phillipson) 1963 assassination, is mixed in with overwrought monologues and not-quite-accurate history. Director Pablo Larrain and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim focus on how Jackie created her own […]
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