Columns
Who’s Missing from Our Tables?
The two women who taught me the most about hospitality know how to make more space at the table. My mother and my mother-in-law have a gift for making a […]
Columns Archive
Columns
No Absolute Certainty
Christ does not often reveal Himself to us in lightning flashes or extraordinary circumstances. Instead, He leaves us free to pray, reflect, and follow God’s will through our daily responsibilities. […]
Columns
Christ is King Who Reigns with Full Authority
The Second Book of Samuel furnishes the first biblical reading for this solemnity, marking the close of the Church’s year. Once the two books of Samuel composed a single volume. […]
Columns
No King but Christ
In his song “Gotta Serve Somebody” from the 1979 album “Slow Train Coming,” Bob Dylan echoed Our Lord’s admonition, “He who is not for me is against me” (Mt 12:30). […]
Columns
‘The Test of All Happiness is Gratitude’
In his conversion apologia “Orthodoxy,” G.K. Chesterton credits his conversion from agnosticism (a stance that basically affirms God may exist but has no personal aspect or possibility of being concerned […]
Columns
Downtime vs. Screentime
I have a confession to make. My childhood was idyllic. I grew up with two parents, I never worried about food, and I had loads of time to play. Surrounding […]
Columns
Our Task as Christians Is to Be True to the Gospel
The Book of Malachi supplies this weekend’s Liturgy of the Word with its first reading. Malachi was not the name of the author of this book. Rather, it refers to […]
Columns
Maternal Mystery: Rosary Brings Us to Christ Through Mary
This mosaic appears in the apse of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. The first time I saw it, I was spellbound. I had never before seen […]
Columns
Christ Is Still with Us, Still Forgives Us, and Still Nourishes Us
This weekend, the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John on the Lateran Hill in Rome. Most Catholics, and indeed most people, presume St. […]
Columns
What a Surge in Conversions Might Mean
Have you ever been sitting in a parked car when something catches your peripheral vision? In a panic, you imagine your car has started to roll forward and you slam […]
Columns
Thin Places in November
Walking around my neighborhood this fall, I saw many skeletons. Bones seemed to protrude from every lawn. One evening, taking a walk in the encroaching darkness, a skeleton I hadn’t […]
Columns
Laws Cover Unethical Actions in Medicine
In recent decades, lawmakers have been pressured to provide legal cover in the form of “immunity from prosecution” for medical personnel who participate in various unethical practices. One involves physician-assisted […]