This week’s 7 Quick Takes covers everything from Scruffy the Tugboat to fishing and cicadas.

If it’s good to dust off the cobwebs in our home, it’s even better to sweep clean your heart and soul.

Usually I agree with my friend and fellow Catholic Review blogger, Robyn Barberry. But we have finally found the topic that divides us: fidget spinners. Read Robyn’s persuasive (and also poetic) take over at her blog, Unconditional.But take a spin through mine first. It’s small, it’s fast, it’s so much fun, And nearly every kid has one, Or […]

This is a response to Rita Buettner’s blog post singing the praises of fidget spinners. Though I’m a huge fan of Rita AND her poem, I can’t stand fidget spinners. Although they are not a problem in my art classes at St. Joan of Arc School, I can’t imagine trying to teach with a whole […]

Even though we’d been preparing for months, Collin was nervous about receiving his First Holy Communion. I would pretend to be the sacristan in front of the kitchen counter, administering unconsecrated Triscuits and water from a Waterford goblet. Time after time he’d forget something when he approached the “altar.” Hands folded in prayer, a bow, […]

Growing up with a love for baseball, the future Bishop William C. Newman didn’t stop playing the game even after he entered the seminary.

When we encounter Jesus, whether on a mission trip in another country or in our ordinary, daily lives, we discover that he wants to befriend us.

We need strong communities of faith. But they should refresh us and arm us to go out and remind others of our more excellent way.

What do I do to inspire others to become fishers of men? Do I ever convey that joy, that excitement, in being a follower of Christ that someone would stop to ask me about Jesus?

The series of Fatima appearances — lasting from May until October of 1917 — is one of the most extraordinary in the history of the church.