Commentaries

Choose love and faithfulness over fear

Experienced by all, doubt and anxiety reveal what we value, writes Carolyn Woo. When we esteem God's will and priorities above our own, we can change ourselves and, ultimately, the world we are called to serve.

Kodi Lee’s got talent, and his parents have courage

The young man who is blind and autistic wowed the judges of "America's Got Talent." Prenatal tests screenings that might have screened for his disabilities and led to an abortion should be used cautiously, says an editorial.

3 young adults are source of hope amidst rise of ‘nones’

A young adult herself, Sister Laura Downing has returned to teach at Immaculata University. She's surrounded by involved and engaged Catholic men and women -- signs of God's promise of a future full of hope.

It’s no time for the ‘same old, same old’ in parishes

Whether it's adoration, confession, novenas, May crownings or the rosary, fewer people are showing up at church, and even fewer are educated in the faith, writes Greg Erlandson. One possible remedy: strong marketing.

In political war of words, a triumph for conscience

Richard Doerflinger praises a positive new federal regulation that protects conscience rights in health care, chiefly on conscientious objection to abortion, as he peels back the ironies of its opponents.

In praise of dad jokes and divine humor

Laura Kelly Fanucci doesn't know where her husband is getting his newfound corny jokes, but her sons are laughing. That reminds her of the power of humor, and the God of laughter.

Thank God for the interruption

It's inconvenient to meet a homeless person on the street, so we look away. But that interruption is a chance to show a person their value and transform the policies that cause the suffering, writes Patrick Walsh.

Your summer pilgrimage

It seems to Effie Caldarola that everyone but her has walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She has her own physical and spiritual pilgrimage this summer, and encourages people to make one of their own.

The work behind true understanding

In an age of jumping to quick decisions, Father Eugene Hemrick calls for a delicacy in speech and demeanor as a way to practice asceticism, or a harmony in life from born of deep understanding.

Show your joy over the gifts we’ve been given

The awe and unbridled joy shown by the graduates of Morehouse College upon learning their student loans would be paid off should be like that of all Christians living in the Holy Spirit, writes Father Thomas Dailey.