Author Archives: admin
May
The way you parent affects everyone—not just your kids Parents are called to bless not only the lives of their children, but also the lives of their teachers, bus drivers, nurses, babysitters, coaches, and friends. When I was in college, I was late to the game in applying for campus work study positions, so I […]
May
True stories of refugees should rouse Catholics into action Catholics cannot ignore the need for immigration reform, says lawyer Linda Dakin-Grimm. What wound do you think needs healing in the Catholic Church? This is the question that Jeannie Gaffigan, writer and executive producer of The Jim Gaffigan Show, and Mike Lewis, editor of the website Where Peter […]
May
How can preachers break through the noise of today’s world? Readers weigh in on the homilies that inspire them—and the ones that put them to sleep. A preacher’s job is harder in the 21st-century United States than in many other places and times. Imagine attending a liturgy and hearing the gospel preached in the Romanesque […]
May
Learn to take your troubles to the Black Madonna The Black Madonna stays present with us through times of distress. In 2003, when I was 33 years old, my mother died. Her body became overwhelmed quite suddenly by infection because of years of use of prednisone to treat the terrible pain and disability her rheumatoid […]
May
Jesus let his mind wander. Why can’t we? Quiet external noise and focus on inner musings—it’s what Jesus would do. Until a few months ago, a tidal wave of noise flooded my apartment most evenings. NPR’s talking heads spouted off as I made dinner. A rotation of comedians-turned-podcasters bantered back and forth as I ate […]
May
Among the Yup’ik people, a priest finds a new kind of faith In rural Alaska, Catholic Extension’s Lumen Christi award recipient Father Stan Jaszek dedicates his ministry to Indigenous Alaskans. The Indigenous Alaskan Yup’ik people have 30 terms to describe the color of snow. When Father Stan Jaszek began ministering to them, he only knew […]
May
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May
IT’S NICE TO BE CARRIED, BUT BY WHOM Beginning in the third century A.D. (not before), the image of Christ the Shepherd with a sheep on his shoulders or surrounded by his flock often appeared in the catacombs. It is a scene meant to depict the confidence and serenity with which the believer […]
Reflection: John 14:6-14 Today we remember two of the apostles: Philip and James. In the first chapter of John, Jesus addresses Philip, a fisherman, in Galilee: “Follow me.” He does not want to follow him alone! He goes and finds his friend, Nathanael, and tells him: “we have found the one, who Moses wrote about […]