When I picked up this hefty tome, a compendium of snippets from Franciscan Father Richard Rohr’s many writings (some of it previously unpublished), I expected a series of reflections in familiar groupings: personal faith, compassion, social justice, the natural world, grief — the standard mix that is often a blessing to preachers or educators who need a little help getting started on a selected topic or biblical passage.

STRATFORD, ONT. - The surprise hit at this year’s Stratford Festival has been captivating audiences by using the Catholic-Protestant divide of 1500s England and Scotland as a mirror of post-9/11 society.

NEW YORK - Those "retired and extremely dangerous" (RED) secret agents are back on the case in "RED 2" (Summit), a lively sequel to the 2010 film based on the graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.

NEW YORK - Movies involving demonic possession and Catholic faith practices always are an uncomfortable mix, as in "The Conjuring" (Warner Bros.).

WASHINGTON - One of the self-styled lay exorcists who was called in for both "The Amityville Horror" and the house-haunting that served as the basis for the new movie "The Conjuring" said it is critical to take stock of "the importance of faith" in such situations.

TORONTO - For there to be victory, theremust be a battle, says Nathan theProphet in A King’s Heart, theon-stage story of King David. Butin the musical directed by SusanG. Acheson, man’s battle withtemptation is just as dangerous as combat.

There is a moment during the Zack Snyder film Man of Steel where we witness a convergence of two of the most recognized icons in the western world: the cross and the “S” on Superman’s chest.

Chris Bray is steadfast and earnest on record, steadfast and earnest on stage, steadfast and earnest throughout a simple phone call.

The Ethical Being: A Catholic Guide to Contemporary Issues by Scott Kline (Novalis, 264 pages, softcover, $19.95)

It is not inevitable that a Catholic book about ethics must become a Catholic book about sex. Despite the popular notion that morality is the conservative, judgmental and unkind mode of talking about sex, Catholic moral science is not primarily a list of forbidden thoughts and acts which originate south of the belt buckle.

The coastal town of Shediac, N.B., is the lobster capital of the world. Two centuries ago, it was the site of one of the most gruesome murders in Canadian history.