Our Spirituality Issue is online now -- just in time to get Lent off to a good start. Available for all to read:* Luke Timothy Johnson on how the external and internal dimensions of religion depend on each other: "Dry Bones: Why Religion Can't Live Without Mysticism"

Exoteric and esoteric religious impulses coexist in tension with one another: the mystics tendency to derogate the visible can lead to neglect of external forms in the name of purity of heart, while the lawyers concern for common standards can encourage the suspicion and even suppression of private devotion.

* The Editors counsel against despair (yes, even regarding politics): "We Can Do Better"

One can of course be a good citizen without being a Christian, but one cannot be a good Christian in a democracy without also being a responsible citizen.

* Historian John Connelly reviews Susannah Heschel's The Aryan Jesus: "Hitler's Gospel"* Film critic Rand Richards Cooper reviews Crazy Heart: "Pitch-perfect" There's more spiritual fodder for subscribers, including Barbara Mujica's article "Teresa of vila: A Woman of Her Time, a Saint for Ours"; Lawrence Cunningham's invaluable roundup of spiritual works in print, and Donald Senior's report on the Pontifical Biblical Commission's statement "The Bible and Morality." Plus columnists Jo McGowan (on the plight of domestic workers in India) and Fr. Nonomen (on the vital role of women in his parish's ministry).There are two short editorials (on child-trafficking protections in Haiti and recent findings related to stem-cell research), a wide-ranging selection of letters, a poem by Thomas Lynch, and a Last Word on ethical eating by Michael Peppard. Finally, Paul O'Donnell reviews James T. Fisher's On the Irish Waterfront, and Cynthia Russett reviews Gail Collins's "When Everything Changed." All brought to you thanks to our loyal subscribers and donors. Not a subscriber yet? Anticipate the joy of Easter by signing up now. (Counting your pennies? Try an online-only subscription for only $29.)