How thoughts affect us July 7, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary Every mom — and everyone who was ever a kid — remembers the occasional chaos of school mornings, grabbing breakfast, homework, lunch bags, negotiating who gets the bathroom next.
In the garden May 5, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary It’s spring. Let’s take our prayer to the gardens where we hear the voice of someone who promises never to leave us alone, and who calls our name in the shadowy dawn.
Consider feet. Actually, consider your own feet. April 1, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Lent This sudden spring awareness of feet coincides with our liturgical tradition: the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday. This powerful liturgical moment imitates the example rooted in John 13, when, at the Last Supper Jesus washes his disciples’ feet.
A Birmingham jail February 12, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Catholic Social Teaching, Commentary, Racial Justice Rev. King’s 7,000-word response, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written in the margins of a newspaper and smuggled out by his attorney, has become a classic of the Civil Rights Movement and a good reread during Black History Month.
The God of second chances January 5, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary The God of second chances is always ready to move forward. Not that we aren’t supposed to acknowledge our failings. But we can’t linger in the past, spending time beating ourselves up as God makes plans for us.
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.
