Fingers pointing at materialism and media must ultimately point to the church’s own miserable failures of leadership and its inability to inspire trust and confidence within a laity that may generously be described as “disappointed” or “disillusioned” with her efforts on many fronts, but especially on the issue of sexual abuse.

Some seminaries attach the wearing of clerical clothes to a specific stage of formation called “candidacy,” but candidacy can also occur at different times in different places.

A quarter-century later, the memory of that silent embrace remains. So does my gratitude that Witness to Hope continues to strengthen the faith of Catholics and lead seekers to Christ and his Church.

Since COVID is still evolving, I think it is too soon to say we’ve reached a genetic truce, but it is certainly easy to say we’ve accepted it as just one more of life’s indignities.

Faith formation cannot be achieved solely in the classroom. Even the best teacher, catechist or youth minister cannot fully substitute for the role of loving parents.

The questions need to be asked and re-asked: What are we intentionally doing to find and grow our places, and our relationships, together as family?

The other day I was chatting with a colleague who is a relatively new mom. We were talking about the challenges of working while raising a child. Her baby boy had started walking while they were on vacation, and she was relieved not to have missed seeing that happen for the first time. She mentioned […]

Our missions and apostolates suffer because we too often pray in a perfunctory way.

Summer is my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it—the heat, the long sunny days, and the lack of routine. This summer we didn’t plan much for our teens, and that only enhanced the time off. It was a season of freedom—no bedtimes and no early mornings. It was glorious. And we […]

I’m not one to have a favorite season; I love them all. But there’s so much to praise about fall.