Commentaries

Living like a strong, confident girl

Karen Osborne wonders why teen girls give up doing things they love. She condemns the pressures put on boys and girls to do and like things based on gender, which denies opportunities for positive experiences.

Using the long reach of prayer during Lent

When thinking of big numbers of people -- 114 million who watched the Super Bowl or the millions who will watch Pope Francis in Philadelphia -- you can touch them and really help them with your prayer, writes Jesuit Father William Byron.

‘Consubstantial,’ and other challenges to memory

It's been a few years but Maureen Pratt still struggles to recall the changed prayers of the Mass. She writes on some ways to shore up a faltering memory.

Marching for life in all its phases

Moises Sandoval reflects after this year's March for Life that America needs to do a better job of building economic and social conditions to have and raise children.

The strangers who care for us

Before Lent begins next week, Carolyn Woo reflects on how there really are no strangers. Whether it's the people who care for us or those we don't know at all, we're all part of God's family.

This headline doesn’t tell you everything

Just as headlines on Twitter do not tell all you need to know about a topic, so too, writes Erick Rommel, do we need to probe more deeply into the words of people around us.

Work and resentment are no reasons to quit the marriage

In their Marriage Matters column, Deacon Paul and Helen McBlain offer positive, practical advice for a couple struggling to stay together.

Youth presence at annual pro-life event shows commitment

Don't tell Karen Osborne today's teenagers are all lazy and self-centered. She sees for herself at the March for Life and in parish life the amazing things they do.

What to do when Joe College can’t write or think

Jesuit Father William Byron notes that four in 10 U.S. college students graduate with insufficient skills to manage white-collar work. They're especially poor in communication, critical thinking and creativity -- and making a good impression.

Caregiving isn’t easy, and neither is receiving care

Sometimes the person receiving care makes it hard on the loved one offering it, writes Bill Dodds. He and his late wife knew well the reasons why.