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When I was doing my taxes this year, it occurred to me that the process is a bit like praying the prayer of examen. This Ignatian prayer is used at the end of the day to think back on what happened that day, to ponder where God was in it and to think ahead to the next day. In doing my taxes, I was forced to think back on the events of my life in 2011, both the good and the bad.

It’s the second movement of Leonard Bernstein’s choral work, Chichester Psalms. A boy soprano (or a countertenor), in the “role” of the shepherd boy, David, sings in Hebrew the opening verses of Psalm 23. He is accompanied–sparingly, fittingly–by the harp. The first several measures are tender but not tentative; filled with sentiment, but without sentimentality (this per Bernstein’s instructions). When the women’s voices take over the text at גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת . . . (Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death . . .) there’s an ethereal echo-canon effect. This part of the movement, when executed well, is something sublime.

New today from the Century: Seeding time, tax prep as Ignatian practice, more.

Richard Colligan, a Lutheran church musician, yields two uplifting discs and 30 songs inspired by the Psalms. The overall feel varies from minor-key folk to gospel-tinged rock....

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI turned 85 on Monday (April 16) amid renewed speculation about his declining health and possible resignation....

(ENInews)--Member churches of the Christian Ecumenical Council of Guatemala are expressing support for rural indigenous families protesting mining activity in their territories. ...

Our spring books issue includes annotated lists of top titles on science and religion, marriage and the Psalms.

One thing I have noticed as a Protestant whose tradition observes the 40 days Lent: we don't seem to be very good at observing the 50 days of the Easter season....

Still haven't read Ross Douthat's book, which I anticipate having some problems with. I have, however, been following with interest his conversation with William Saletan. Saletan, skeptical about some but not all of Douthat's views, asks good questions, and Douthat gives thoughtful replies. I think this comment from Douthat is generally a wise one: A quick word on your “if it feels good, don’t do it” distillation of my message. We can dig into this more as we go, but for now I’d just point out that at various times, Christianity—and particularly my own Catholicism, the faith of carousing Irishmen, hedonistic Italians, and “give me chastity, Lord, but Lord not yet” sinners in every time and place—has been scolded for being altogether too worldly, too pleasure-loving, too forgiving of the weaknesses of the flesh.

New today from the Century: Essential books, truncated Eastertide, more.

The Big Questions in Science and Religion, by Keith Ward (Templeton Foundation Press)....

A Daring Promise: A Spirituality of Christian Marriage, by Richard R. Gaillardetz (Liguori)....

They Cried to the Lord: The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer, by Patrick D. Miller (Fortress)....

There’s no faster way for a movie to earn the disdain of critics than to rack up exorbitant costs and then fall on its face....

Reynolds Price says that Hemingway yearned for “sanctity.” I’m not sure what to make of that, but Hemingway’s general yearning is clear.

"How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" Even some Christians rule 1 John's question out of order.

While the war on women seems to be raging, with many religious leaders in the helm, there are also many women who are working in ministry, in spite of subtle and not-so-subtle resistence....

Have you filed your tax return yet? If you prepared it yourself, congratulations on navigating that complex web of forms and instructions, an ongoing complexity brought to you by a strange lobby comprised of tax-preparation companies and antitax activists. Senate Republicans blocked the Buffett Rule yesterday, a sad moved surpassed in sadness perhaps only by the smallness of the proposed minimum tax itself.

New today from the Century: Hemingway's yearning, a tax-day miscellany, more.

Steve Martin’s novelty song “King Tut” contains the line “could’ve won a Grammy.” Now this disc by the actor-comedian is indeed Grammy nominated, in the bluegrass category....