The Advent the church collapsed December 15, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Advent, Commentary Whatever your memories are at Christmas, give them to God, who has them already, and treats them all with tenderness and mercy. God will help us do the same.
The time that has been given to us December 2, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Advent, Commentary What do I choose to do with the time given me? Worry prevents me from using my precious time freely and constructively. Anxiety inhibits my boldness.
Joy in simplifying November 18, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary Sort, throw, save, give away. Make room for those things valued most. As I write these words, I see how they pertain both to the clutter and detritus of my material goods, but also to the clutter of my interior life, my soul.
Thin places in November October 31, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary I won’t miss those skeletons on the neighborhood lawns. But I treasure remembering how close we are to our beloved, living and dead.
Make good trouble October 20, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Immigration and Migration, Racial Justice If you attend a church which blocks misfits, you’re in the wrong church. Jesus welcomed misfits — the Samaritan woman, the leper, the woman “caught in the very act” of adultery, the tax collector.
Silence in a noisy world October 1, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Saints The noise of this world makes a home in our minds. God’s soft, silent sounds live in our hearts. We all need more silence.
You don’t have to be a superhero to honor the Season of Creation September 17, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Environment A prayerful nature walk, reflecting on the gift of our environment, is a great way to honor the Season of Creation.
Our story doesn’t end with the cross August 20, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Immigration and Migration Father Strassburger reminded me that the “Christian story doesn’t end with the cross. It ends with the Resurrection.”
Walking with saints August 4, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Saints I’m inspired by the old adage, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” I’m called to ask, what saints have influenced me? How am I called to be a saint? And how do “my” saints walk with me on that journey?
How and why to laugh like a saint July 17, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Saints Hearing that Ignatius’ rooms were full of laughter is a good reminder at a time when so many Americans are feeling anxious. We are, after all, in a Jubilee year of hope. We are Pilgrims of Hope. But I, like many, struggle with hope.
Jesus doesn’t leave us alone in the night June 16, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary There are faith-sharing groups out there that beckon us. There are food banks and Catholic charities serving the unhoused and the migrant that need our help.
God’s dazzling creation June 2, 2025By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Environment Regulations must not be relaxed for the sake of corporate greed, but must be built on the common good of all, including our grandchildren. It’s what our faith teaches, and it’s really as simple as that.
