In 1943, Pope Pius XII promulgated Divino afflante Spiritu, encouraging the translation of the Bible on the basis of original Hebrew & Greek texts. Prior to Divino afflante Spiritu the Latin Vulgate had served as the textual basis for Catholic translations of the Bible; this new directive from the pope inaugurated the modern era of Catholic biblical scholarship. The French Dominicans at the École Biblique in Jerusalem answered the call, publishing a French translation of the Bible—La Bible de Jérusalem—in 1956.

Here I rank the Oscars nominees for Best Picture, from least favorite to favorite. Honestly this was a very good year for Best Picture nominees so it was hard ranking them. With the exception of my bottom 3 (I really did not care for any of those), I could very easily arrive at an entirely different ranking, depending on the day. 10. Maestro Everything about Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic just felt so effortful, especially the performances.

Today, on the feast of Saints Perpetua & Felicity, I thought about their martyrdom. The account of their martyrdom—most of which is written by Perpetua herself—is a witness not only to the victory of life over death upon which Christianity is founded, but also of resistance against imperial oppression. Indeed, it is precisely in their dying that Perpetua & Felicity overcome the death-dealing ways of the Roman empire. From Perpetua’s Passion:

One of the particular challenges of teaching theology today—even to students who have some religious background—is the utter lack of theological formation most people in the United States receive. Some students may come in with some religious formation, in that they have participated in their church’s faith formation classes or even theology classes in a religious high school, but that formation tends to be more catechetical than theological. To oversimplify, catechesis provides a student with a religious community’s answers to theological questions, but it does not always provide the rationale for those answers.

In the eighth episode of Beef, in one of a series of flashbacks filling in the backstories of the two beefing protagonists (or, better, the two antagonists), we see a particularly affecting scene between Danny & his younger brother, Paul that illustrates what Thomas Merton calls “the pattern & prototype of all sin.” (Spoilers follow.) Danny & Paul are at their parents’ motel: Danny is perhaps 20 or 21 years old & working as his parents’ handyman (contractor, he insists), while Paul, three years his junior, is preparing his college applications.

Here are the top 10 new-to-me books I read in 2023, in the order I read them: Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, & Being, by M. Shawn Copeland Metamorphoses, by Ovid (translated by Stephanie McCarter) The Body of the Cross: Holy Victims & the Invention of the Atonement, by Travis E. Ables Bare Ruined Choirs: Doubt, Prophecy, & Radical Religion, by Gary Wills Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World, by Daniel Sherrell Nothing Gained Is Eternal: A Theology of Tradition, by Anne M.

In which I read Bullshit Jobs: A Theory & Swimming in the Dark & Silence: A Novel & Way Back to God: The Spiritual Theology of St Bonaventure & Doppleganger: A Trip into the Mirror World; & watched The Grapes of Wrath & May December & The Holdovers & The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes & Napoleon & The Muppets Christmas Carol & Home Alone & Poor Things & It’s a Wonderful Life & Saltburn & The Color Purple (2023).