Christianity is a personal affair. It is not abstract, theoretical, a speculative philosophy. It is a personal encounter with the living God who is himself three persons sharing one divine nature.

Fr. Dcn. Emmanuel gives the homily from the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Bobby interviews Elizabeth Crispina Johnson, author of And Then Nicholas Sang and What Do You Hear, Angel?

How did our society become so accepting of a culture of death - from Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Terri Schiavo, and Planned Parenthood?

Apple and art house film company A24 are in early development on a film about convicted crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried with a script written by Lena Dunham, Variety reported. The project will be based on the Michael Lewis book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon that many critics found overly deferential to Bankman-Fried. 

The book describes the dizzying rise and equally vertiginous fall of Bankman-Fried and his FTX crypto exchange and Alameda hedge fund. However, it paints the FTX founder as a benevolent prodigy and glosses over the fact that he embezzled billions of dollars from customers and spent it on things like celebrity endorsements, political donations and high-end real-estate purchases.  

FTX was worth billions at its peak, but the exchange eventually collapsed and Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Most FTX customers will get their original investments back, plus interest, but that's based on a bitcoin price of around $17,000 — and the current price is nearly five times that.

Basing the film on Lewis's fawning hagiography isn't a promising start. Hopefully, Dunham or other writers will also draw on far better books (like Numbers Go Up by Zeke Faux) that show the dark, scammy side of crypto promoters like Bankman-Fried and the entire industry in general.

Apple Original Films and A24 have announced other collaborations recently, including the Spike Lee and Denzel Washington film High and Low. Other scripted FTX projects are also in the works, including a limited Amazon Prime series from the Russo brothers based on the 2022 FTX collapse. 

John Maddex talks with Daria Petrykowski of the Department of Christian Education at the Orthodox Church in America about an important parish ministries conference the end of June. The dates are June 27-30 and speakers include Metropolitan Jonah, Fr. John Behr, David Drillock, Bishop Melchizedek and many others. For more information, click HERE.

Bobby Maddex interviews Elizabeth Crispina Johnson, author of the Conciliar Press children's books And Then Nicholas Sang and What Do You Hear, Angel? Both books were illustrated by Masha Lobastov.

Bobby Maddex interviews Mark Ohanian, the Director of Programs at International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), about IOCC's relief efforts in the Philippines following Super Typhoon Haiyan. Click here to find out how you can help.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Stephen Loposky about the 17th Annual Youth Worker and Camping Conference.

The White House sides with Israel's ground assault of Lebanon while much of the world calls for a ceasefire. / Al Jazeera

Meanwhile, Iran is said to be preparing to launch a ballistic-missile attack. / The Wall Street Journal [+]

A long profile of Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose new book criticizes Israel and the corrupting influence of power. "I'm sad, but I was so enraged." / New York Magazine

Things to watch for in tonight's Vance-Walz debate. / Wake Up to Politics

Helene slamming a small town in North Carolina may disrupt the global supply chain for microchips. / NPR

A nuclear plant in Michigan will be the first in US history to restart. / CNBC

Your weekly white paper: "A systematic review about similarities in dog-human dyads." / Science Direct

A fascinating survey of how religious believers are using new technologies in their daily practices. / rest of world

An audio dive into Google's new niche product Notebook, which can turn a bunch of PDFs into a convincing podcast. / The New York Times [+]

See also: Barry C. Lynn on "Liberal democracy's last stand against Big Tech." / Harper's

From July, have you seen the trend of new books using multi-panel illustrations on their covers? They're called "bento books." / I Need a Book Cover

A celebrated new short story collection is about "people who just can't hang." / The New Yorker

Also, have you noticed worse service at restaurants lately? For the sake of society, that might be a good thing. / Economist Writing Every Day

See also: Britain experiences a rise in "zebra striping," where pub patrons alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer. / Semafor

Japan's smaller museums are praised for their elegance. / The Wall Street Journal [+]

Photographs of Japanese forests shimmering with fireflies. / Colossal

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Many of us seek wealth, or stuff, or other temporary pleasures. Yet God wants us to seek something more. Christ chose the Cross. What do you choose?

If we are faithful, does God reward us? Does He promise wealth and blessings? Or is true happiness so much more... Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, joins Steve at the start of Holy Week.

Rather than zapping us, God choses to fix us.

Now that Lent is in full swing, how can we help our kids stay the course?

Keeping high performers engaged at work not only maximizes productivity, but also drives revenue up. I won't bore you with the research, but studies show that a single top achiever can deliver as much productivity as up to four average employees. In the heart of every small business, there are standout stars – the true ... Read more

The post Keeping Your Top Talent Engaged appeared first on Chris Lema.

Watch Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo as he hits an "incredible" drop shot against Great Britain's Jack Draper at the Davis Cup in Manchester.

24-time men's Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic says Jannik Sinner's doping case "is not helping tennis at all". Sinner, the men's world number one, was cleared of any wrongdoing after twice testing positive for low levels of clostebol - a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass - during the Indian Wells tournament in March. The World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed against the decision which said Sinner bore 'no fault or negligence' for the substance being in his system.

World number one Jannik Sinner says he is "surprised" by the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal against the decision to clear him of blame after he twice tested positive for a banned substance.

News that Jannik Sinner, the men's world number one, had failed two doping tests stunned tennis. BBC Sport examines the key questions at hand.

The past 12 months I have gotten extraordinarily nerdy on backpacking gear. And one of the things I ended up splurging on was the best headlamp I’ve ever owned. Two things I love about this thing: (1) how very thin and lightweight it is; and (2) its dedicated buttons for the white and red lights. […]

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How do Toulouse adapt methods and practices of space training to the sports field

One of the least successful Pro-Am teams in history reflects on where it all went wrong.

A Solheim Cup preview and reviews of Eddie’s time in Switzerland and Texas at the O2.

Andrew, Iain and Eddie look back at the Solheim Cup and Rory McIlroy's Irish Open woes.

Watch as Rory McIlroy makes a birdie despite snapping his club head on an approach shot during his first round at the PGA Championship at Wentworth.

A Dundee ice hockey player who raped a teenage girl in his car is detained for four-and-a-half years.

A community ownership project in Dumfries is being watched to see if it could be repeated elsewhere.

The boss of Britain's biggest pubs group urges the chancellor to extend business rates relief.

Snowdonia National Park Authority will continue to refer to Wales' tallest mountain as Yr Wyddfa.

Off-spinner Amar Virdi leaves Surrey after 15 years at the club.

The waste was taken from Abigail's home in Boston.

Bob goes out on street sweeps with Cornerstone to support the homeless.

Their owner thanks people for their help after finding the birds three miles away.

Bruno Fernandes went to the aid of a man who almost collapsed on a flight from Manchester to Lisbon.

Gloucestershire spin-bowler Tom Smith signs a one-year T20-only contract extension with the club through the 2025 season.

Cambridge City are set to play in the first round of the Women's FA Cup for only the second time - with over half of their team just 16 years old.

United Utilities is installing measures to prevent eels from getting caught up in equipment when water is taken from the river.

The pilot scheme begins in December to help identify and charge fly-tippers.

A heavy metal fan says Gig Buddies Bedford has "given him back a huge amount of freedom".

Worcestershire sign Nottinghamshire spinner Fateh Singh on a three-year deal, following his loan spell at New Road in the 2024 season.

The MP says people across Cumbria and Lancashire are waiting up to 15 months for treatment.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from an A&R person at a global dance music label. It was a pretty standard email along the lines of “hey we like your song, would you be interested in licensing it to us?” which I’ve received before and usually they amount to nothing. This often...

There are three chess grandmasters in south west who remain at the top of their game