From the December issue: J. J. Kimche examines the resurgence of the Sabbath in this review of Israel’s Day of Light and Joy by Jon D. Levenson. He writes, “True Sabbath is not a tool for a more efficient Monday. It stands as a reminder that human life and dignity are ends in themselves, imbued with the eternity of the divine image and the attendant obligation to tend to those parts of our lives and personhood that cannot be priced on the market, yet have worth beyond number.”

For further reading: Viva Hammer wrote in “Sabbath Alone” (November 2016) that the weekly ritual has sustained her throughout the tumult of life: “It hovers over the week, beckoning, so that sometimes, on Tuesday, I’m so exhausted I yearn for the Sabbath. Not yearning for a day off, not for a vacation, but for the Sabbath. With its enforced quiet and song and contemplation and afternoon nap.”

Spanish singer Rosalía’s buzzy new album LUX is an exploration of the religious themes that have imbued her repertoire. Stephen Adubato writes, “While I doubt she’ll inspire her listeners to enter religious life, I do think her new album is a true provocation. Perhaps even more provocative than asking her listeners to contemplate the Creator himself is asking them to contemplate creation, reality, itself.”

For further reading: Speaking of provocateurs, Stephen considered Andy Warhol’s Christianity in “Andy Warhol’s Sacraments,” asserting that a sacramental vision of the world imbues his art.

Colorado is freezing Catholic preschools out of its universal pre-K program in violation of Supreme Court precedent, Nicholas Reaves writes: “States like Colorado are trying to sidestep those rulings by excluding religious people under the guise of a neutral-sounding anti-discrimination law. That’s a distinction without a difference, especially in this case, where the only preschools excluded are religious.”

For further reading: Charles Glenn wrote about the problems that arise when government funding for faith-based schools comes with strings attached in “The Future of Faith-Based Schools” (2021).

In his column, George Weigel writes that the Vatican document Dignitatis Humanae, which affirmed the fundamental right to religious freedom, was the start of a chain of events that eventually took down the Soviet Union. This claim to the sanctuary of conscience was “precision-guided hypersonic missile” to the core of the communist project: the claim that there is no aspect of identity that the party could not control.

For further reading: If the Catholic Church used to restrict practice of other religions, including Protestantism, does not Dignitatis Humanae then constitute a change in doctrine? Thomas Pink took up this question in “Conscience and Coercion” (September 2012).

Upcoming Events

• February 1, 2026: Second Annual Neuhaus Lecture at the New College of Florida | Sarasota, FL. Details coming soon.

Until next time,

VIRGINIA AABRAM

Newsletter Editor