Personal setbacks transformed St. Ignatius’ life for good At a fork in the road, St. Ignatius stumbled into God’s grace. I first encountered St. Ignatius of Loyola when I was a boy. My grandmother had volunteered with Father Pedro Arrupe (one of the great Ignatian social activists), and although she was a Baptist, Arrupe’s spirituality […]
Why do we kneel in church? Body postures vary throughout global Christianity, but all are meant to remind us that we are acknowledging God’s presence. In the 1989 movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the title character competes with the Nazis to find the Holy Grail. At the end of his quest, he must pass […]
Home is a sacred place. How might you bless yours? There’s no place like home. It’s vital to our sense of security and self-understanding. There’s no place like home, Dorothy repeats like a mantra. She clicks the heels of her magic shoes until she opens her eyes to find herself in the land of her […]
To build back better, put families first Human life is not only sacred—it’s social. Joe Biden’s “build back better” legislative train stalled at the station in October. West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin joined the entire Republican caucus in rejecting a version of the president’s spending plan, sharply reduced from the $3.5 trillion he originally […]
Lessons from my first foster daughter You don’t have to share DNA for a child to leave fingerprints on your heart and home. When I dreamt of becoming a mother, I never imagined parenting in strings of broken Spanish. In fact, my linguistic understanding of it was limited to a dusting of vocabulary and classes […]
A Jesuit’s legacy inspires a more just global community Jesuit Father Jacquineau Azétsop worked for greater participation in building systems of public health. As 2022 begins, despite strong desires to move on, the world still finds itself mired in pandemics. The fall semester was one of stark juxtaposition. On my campus, students and faculty found […]
How to train up a child the Catholic way It’s time to reconsider obedience-based parenting for something more in line with Catholic values. I was 22 years old, wide eyed and earnest in the pew, when I first heard my pastor commission all the parents in the church to teach their children to obey “quickly, […]
Netflix’s ‘Maid’ shows the catastrophe of U.S. family policies The 10-episode miniseries highlights the need for public policy that supports families. Did you know that if you’re a poor and unemployed single mother, before you can get any financial assistance from the government you must have a job? On top of that, you can also […]
Family spirituality benefits everyone, says this theologian When we ask questions together, we respond to holiness in our daily lives. Christina R. Zaker weaves her lens as a woman and mother into every class she teaches at Catholic Theological Union, but that lens is particularly helpful in teaching a handful of different family spirituality classes. […]
What can you let go of this year? Trim away what no longer serves you to make room for new growth. I recently helped a friend move some exercise equipment. Mighty heavy exercise equipment to be precise. Exercise equipment that had to be taken apart in one location, then reassembled in another. Now, to his […]