Commentaries
The power of a positive, prayerful parent
Maureen Pratt shares how one mother with a special needs child helps other families affected by disability to find a church home through the Faith Inclusion Network, a ministry born from a desire to embrace all with God's love.
Lenten advice for teens
In addition to prayer, fasting and almsgiving, Maria-Pia Negro Chin offers youth several suggestions for drawing closer to God during Lent. At the top of the list is a reminder that your worth comes from God, and that you don't have to have all of life's answers.
What to take, what to leave behind, on the journey
Laura Kelly Fanucci knows the sage advice for taking young kids on a journey works well for anyone's journey through Lent, with a twist: Leave half of your plans behind. Bring twice the trust that God will feed you.
Pain, Lent and redemption
In a society that seeks to medicate suffering, this season of repentance leads us to confront our weakness, writes Moises Sandoval. The desert, where life hangs by a thread, shows our dependence on God for life, health and survival.
Why defending Cardinal Pell is a problem
Many lay Catholics have challenged the conviction of the highest-ranked Catholic clergyman to be found guilty of child sexual abuse. The rush to believe the cardinal, rather than the victims, undercuts efforts to reform and heal the church, writes Gunther Simmermacher.
Gratitude as a Lenten practice
Reflecting on God's many blessings throughout each day brings us into his presence, writes Effie Caldarola. Even unjust and heartbreaking circumstances can be places where we encounter Christ and his healing love.
Go take a walk to holy place, even in your own backyard
Sister Ann Heath loves to walk. She suggests that walking with God in a pilgrimage of grace this Lent can be as simple as slowing our pace, focusing on the holy and visiting a few local shrines.
Profiting from our faults this Lent
The 40-day path to Easter shouldn't lead us to despair over our shortcomings, writes Oblate Father Thomas Dailey. Determination to continually seek God's grace, rather than trying to perfect ourselves, leads to true holiness.
Heart work for Lent
The season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving takes on new meaning in today's toxic public square, writes Carolyn Woo. By humbling ourselves before God, we can grow in compassion and service.
Making your bed is the most important job of the day
Father Eugene Hemrick sees the value in starting the day with an energizing task which creates a vitalizing order, followed by other tasks which lead to other such order. It's a good cure for restlessness.