Commentaries
It can be a crazy world, but sanity lies in ‘fear of the Lord’
More than connoting fright, "holy fear" means being in awe of God's gift of order and its harmonizing strength to dispel life's craziness, writes Father Eugene Hemrick.
Spiritual, not religious, but still searching beyond Google
Like people who prefer to ask a librarian for help rather than Googling the item (an upward trend), Brett Robinson sees the wisdom in people accompanying one another on the journey of faith.
Cardinal Foley: A voice of Thanksgiving past, for today
CatholicPhilly.com presents the homily for Thanksgiving Day Mass that the late Cardinal Foley preached in Rome in 2005. He gave thanks to God for an American mosaic of "many colors and many cultures in one beautiful expression of unity with diversity."
A clear history of Thanksgiving, without the myths
From its origin in abolitionist New England to its nationwide spread and adoption after the Civil War, Thanksgiving Day remains the holiday Americans love to celebrate -- with little commercialism.
Put two good ideas from Republicans’ tax bill to good use
Fairness demands that in the tax reform debate, some of any new revenue from slashing corporate rates and capping the deduction for home mortgages go to rental assistance and other programs for those who are not wealthy.
Mass murder and our culture of death
The latest mass shooting reminds us that choosing life means taking action against the proliferation of deadly weapons, writes Greg Erlandson.
A poet preaches through the beauty of well-chosen words
The work of American Christian poet Richard Wilbur reminds us of the innate goodness of God's creation, writes John Garvey.
Post-Columbine youths being raised on America’s battlefields
Christopher White, who has grown up with shootings at schools, churches and theaters, calls for harnessing the moral energy of young people who are building a culture of life and who refuse to accept rising gun violence as normal.
In U.S. Virgin Islands, it’s a long way back to ‘normal’
Renee Hudson Small, an official with archdiocesan Catholic Social Services, is leading in the recovery efforts in the Caribbean islands after two huge hurricanes in September. She reflects on how residents feel about the future there.
In one hand shake, lifelong gratitude for being Catholic
What's it like to hold the pope's hand? Hosffman Ospino now knows that it is a sign of communion that gives life. Those who have done so know they are part of something bigger and noble. They are Catholic.