FILMS AND BOOKS

For those who have never been inside any of the Vatican Museums, seeing a documentary about them done with a 3-D effect on the big screen could be a real treat.

I received this book, R is for Rosary, by Barbara Gowan and immediately thought – as a Lay Dominican – a book about St. Dominic and the story of how the Virgin Mary gave him the rosary. Then, I discovered it was a children’s book.

Positive values, including altruism, are highlighted in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1."

The book "Three Moments of the Day: Praying with the Heart of Jesus” is one of those tests of Church unity.

There is a close relationship between charitable action and philanthropy on the part of religious organizations, according to Thomas J. Davis, editor of "Religion in Philanthropic Organizations: Family, Friend, Foe?" But the philanthropy his book focuses upon aims principally at alleviating society's ills and making the world a better place. This might be done through caring for the sick, feeding and educating the poor, disaster relief, counseling families that suffer or aid for immigrants.

Chapels at Princeton, Harvard, Yale and the University of Chicago are explored in Margaret M. Grubiak's "White Elephants on Campus," which provides readers with two history lessons. One is about religion's role on campuses of private, nondenominational U.S. universities; the other is about the architecture of these chapels.

“Rekindling the Christic Imagination: Theological Meditations for the New Evangelization” is a book that takes us to a place where we should be and where we should have been all along.

Although they may be sociologically fascinating, in the cultural scheme of things, Elvis Presley impersonators are not widely deemed to occupy a particularly exalted position.

In the opening line of her new book, “Non-negotiable: Essential Principles of a Just Society and Humane Culture,” Sheila Liaugminas writes, “We the people are losing our ability to think clearly or reason well.”

It seems that making a non-animated movie without an abundance of adult language and relationships or excessive violence is a tall order for Hollywood, but it’s one that “When the Game Stands Tall” (Sony Pictures) successfully tackles.