When I arrived at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary as the rector three years ago, I thought I knew how to answer the question of how someone becomes a Catholic priest. I was wrong.

Women’s History Month is the perfect time to celebrate the legacies of the many congregations of women religious who pioneered health care, education and social services in the United States. 

In a split second, the place that we called home could have become one in a list of many: Sandy Hook, Oklahoma City, Columbine, the World Trade Center, the Boston Marathon and now Parkland. It only takes one person with malicious intent to uproot and destroy lives.

A 2017 neurological study suggests that we can lean on a key practice to give us the spiritual muscle to rise above temptations: prayer.

In responding to the call of their teaching mission, the Oblate Sisters nurtured the minds and souls of black folk, the very elements of black existence white society routinely denied.

It is important that Catholics remain confident in answering the call to serve while also upholding the beliefs that have been handed down to us by Christ.

Young adults today are navigating a defining decade of life with great hopes, big questions and constant transitions.

I wish we had a litmus test to identify the people who deserve our praise. But it won’t ever be simple. We are all sinners.

It’s not so much a question of how can we change those who commit violent acts as it is a question of how can I live a virtuous and good and decent life in the midst of daily tragedies. 

At the start of a new year, let’s take a moment to look back at some of those special moments from 2017.