Spiritually stretching in the spring sunshine!

COVER STORY—Popular author and teacher Jon M. Sweeney turned to writing about the spiritual wisdom of cats several years ago for a series of books for young people about Christian traditions at the Vatican. That’s because Jon’s own life has been shaped by nine cats—who are the spiritual teachers in Jon’s new book for adults, Sit in the Sun: And Other Lessons in the Spiritual Wisdom of Cats. The book is a delightful journey through feline and human spiritual insights that you will want to try yourself as you read along with Jon’s (and his cats’) adventures.

Please, if you enjoy this cover story, share it with friends this week via social media and email. This is such a fun story that your friends will thank you for sharing the link!

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From our authors

Rodney Curtis—

‘Wishing Mom an Amazing 90th’

PHOTOGRAPHER and AUTHOR Rodney Curtis writes a heart-felt love letter to his Mom as she turns 90 and it’s well worth reading for anyone who wants to experience a bit of awe at the rapid movement of our global culture—and the movements many of us have joined to help shape that culture in positive ways. Within his tribute to his Mom, Rodney writes, “There’s so much to say about Joanne Curtis, but since the lady taught me how to cry, it’s impossible to write more without drenching my keyboard.”

Interested? Go read Rodney right now. And, then, maybe you might feel called to pick up the phone and call your own Mom!

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Howard Brown & Magie Cook—

Need Some Inspiration?

AUTHOR HOWARD BROWN specializes in weekly doses of sunshine in keeping with his life story, Shining Brightly. How does he do it? “It’s all about the relationships,” Howard writes this week in our Front Edge Publishing column. And he demonstrates the power of relationships in his new podcast with the amazing entrepreneur Magie Cook, who survived life as an impoverished street kid and rose to build a multi-million-dollar salsa business—then decided to “give back” herself.

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Bill Tammeus—

‘Why we keep track of violators of religious liberty’

THIS WEEK, author and veteran journalist Bill Tammeus reminds all of us that there are publicly available resources for tracking religious liberty around the world. Sharing information about these reports is one powerful way that everyday folks can help to promote religious freedom and protect vulnerable minorities, Bill writes.

“Religious freedom is guaranteed in our U.S. Constitution, but in a perfect world it wouldn’t need to be. That’s because it should be seen as a fundamental human right. It should be seen as that because it is precisely that—which is one reason our government pays attention to freedom of religion not just in the U.S. but around the world. … Even if most Americans don’t know about these reports, what we do know is that the countries that are violating the right to religious freedom know when one or both of those annual reports names them as perpetrators.”

Please click here to visit Bill’s website and read his entire column on violations of religious freedom.

And, while you’re visiting Bill’s website, you will also want to read his recent column about the Vatican coming to terms with its centuries of blindness toward the rights of native peoples.

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Holidays & Festivals

Cinco de Mayo

Celebrating Mexican Culture

HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS columnist Stephanie Fenton reports this week on the upcoming festival of Cinco de Mayo. She explains the historical milestone that touched off the American custom of celebrating May 5 each year—and she shares links to delicious Cinco de Mayo recipes!

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WANT TO SEE ALL OF THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS?—It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just remember the web address: InterfaithHolidays.com

 

 

 

 

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Faith & Film

ED McNULTY, for decades, has published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film. Most of his work is freely published. Ed supports his work by selling the Visual Parables Journal, a monthly magazine packed with discussion guides to films. This resource is used coast-to-coast by individuals who love the movies and by educators, clergy and small-group leaders.

Here are some of Ed’s most recent free reviews and columns:

• BILL W—(Streaming) Ed writes, “This is a respectful portrait of the man whose work saved millions of lives, but not a whitewash of his faults.”
• HIS ONLY SON—(In theaters)”Writer/director David Helling tackles one of the most difficult stories in his first feature film, the Genesis story of God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.”
• THE BLUE CAFTAN—(In theaters) “Moroccan writer-director Maryam Touzani handles as difficult a question for Muslims in his new film as it is for Christians—the love between members of the same sex that their culture condemns.”
• AIR—(In theaters) “In director Ben Afleck’s fifth film, the race is a heated one—a commercial race between three sneaker shoe companies: Converse, Adidas, and Nike.”
• LET ME HAVE MY SON—(In theaters) “Writer/director Cristobal Kruson’s newest film is a fictionalized story of his own spiritual journey that centers on his son’s descent into mental illness.”
• ON A WING AND A PRAYER—(Streaming on Amazon) “Sean McNamara’s film is based on a true story in which a seasoned pilot of a private twin-engined plane suffers a fatal heart attack.”
• THE LOST KING—(In theaters) “That truth is sometimes more bizarre than fiction is well demonstrated in Director Stephen Frears latest film, a historical detective story.”
• OPERATION MINCEMEAT—(Streaming on Netflix) “For those of us who missed 1956’s The Man Who Never Was, Netflix’s current film will introduce us to one of the great deceptions of WWII.”

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