Handel in London by Jane Glover, Macmillan, 448pp, £25, $29.95 To begin on a carping note, Jane Glover’s subtitle, The Making of a Genius, surely claims too much for London. Handel’s genius had been blazingly evident before he ever thought of working in England. In particular, during his years in Italy (1706-10) he had stunned

Cardinal Joseph Zen, emeritus of Hong Kong, was in Rome earlier this month to hand-deliver a letter to Pope Francis about the escalating persecution of the Catholic Church in China. This is becoming something of a pattern in Rome, where bishops urgently arrive to ask for a correction in the Holy See’s foreign policy. The

The souls in Purgatory are our brothers and sisters, and there are several simple ways we can help to lessen their sufferings and speed them towards Paradise. The most basic is to pray for them, as the Church especially encourages in November. We can also offer sacrifices – a short fast, or persistent back pain,

St James’s, Spanish Place, is definitely my favourite church in London. Its elegant vaults are reminiscent of a French Gothic cathedral. Its shadowy interior and its numerous, still-adorned side altars give it that feeling of immemorial devotion which makes stepping into it from the proximity of Oxford Street, Europe’s busiest shopping street, feel like sanctuary.

Ordinary Form Divine Office Week II Sunday, November 25: Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King Dn 7:13-14; Ps 93; Rv 1:5-8; Jn 18:33B-37 Monday, November 26: Weekday in Ordinary Time Rv 14:1-3, 4B-5; Ps 24; Lk 21:1-4 Tuesday, November 27: Weekday in Ordinary Time Rv 14:14-19; Ps 96; Lk 21:5-11 Wednesday, November 28: Weekday in Ordinary

In the Novus Ordo calendar, this Sunday – the last of the liturgical year – is the solemnity of Christ the King. In the traditional calendar we celebrated Christ the King on the last Sunday of October. There is an Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that can

Christ the King Dn 7:13-14; Rev 1:5-8; Jn 18:33-37 (Year B) The prayer at Mass for the solemnity of Christ the King spans our relationship with God from its beginning in Creation to its ultimate conclusion with Christ’s Second Coming as Lord and King. It is a prayer full of hope, turning to the Father who,

The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Volume II Edited by Peter Steinberg and Karen Krull, Faber and Faber, 1,025pp, £35/$35 Since her suicide in the winter of early 1963, Sylvia Plath has been squabbled over by feminists who claim her as a martyr to their cause, literary critics who see her as one of the most