Commentaries
Teen lesson 1: Don’t make Mom worry
Lost on a drive with friends one night, columnist Erick Rommel learned some lessons for life on the road from childhood to adulthood.
Philadelphia, get ready for a new chapter in papal teaching on marriage
Jesuit Father William Byron believes that if you want to know what the Synod of Bishops on the family will discuss in October, listen to what Pope Francis says about family life here next month.
Make plans to meet your goals, not excuses, excuses
Karen Osborne's young niece wanted to see her favorite band in concert. Rather than complain about the high cost she worked hard, planned ahead and now is on her way.
Abortion explanations won’t work anymore
The logic that abortion is about women's reproductive and health care rights has led to the dark place of selling the organs of aborted babies. We must treat all people, unborn and not, as sacred.
Do you aspire to God or the idol of consumerism?
The term "aspirational crimes" got Carolyn Woo thinking about what we want, and whether that leads to God or to idols. We must choose which master we will serve.
Dad has had enough of the Jersey shore vacations
Deacon Paul and Helen McBlain counsel a couple to broaden their holiday horizons, even though the mother has grown up "down the shore."
Walking through real life, with real-life saints
Columnist Effie Caldarola admires saints because they weren't always walking around in ecstasy but fighting life's hardships and hassles.
Parish is place where ecology encyclical can sink roots
It's good to read Pope Francis' encyclical, but now it's time to act, writes Father Eugene Hemrick. Situated in neighborhoods, parishes have excellent means for creating green projects in the community.
Miracles come to sinners as well as saints
If you've got a problem with anger, you may be in the company of some saints, writes Father John Catoir. He advises asking humbly for God's will to be done.
The roots of same-sex marriage run through the pill
Unless heterosexual couples recover the virtue of chastity -- viewing sex as connected to marriage and fertility -- they have no moral warrant for imposing it on their gay friends, writes John Garvey.