Traveler, there is no road November 5, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary So, as I begin my walk, I ask Jesus to give me a listening heart. I begin with thankfulness, gratitude. Then I acknowledge to him my present worries. I try to be very honest with Jesus about my fears and my feelings. I avoid the insistent prayers of petition that I can sometimes invoke, instead just briefly lifting them to Jesus to hold. I ask for the grace of listening, noticing.
Choose life this October October 8, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Respect Life During Nebraska’s long struggle to end the death penalty, a weekly protest was held outside the governor’s mansion.
Will millions die due to USAID cuts? August 3, 2026By Effie Caldarola OSV News Filed Under: Commentary How does the world view the U.S. right now? How do we deserve to be viewed? Are we working to create “the beloved community” which Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned, which is another way of saying “the kingdom of God?”
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.
