Commentaries
Honey, I’d like to be a deacon
Permanent Deacon Paul McBlain and his wife Helen have advice for a man discerning his vocation to the diaconate, and his wife’s misgivings: Pray, discuss and pray!
School-choice tax credits have proven ROI
Amy Hill notes the solid track record of Pa.'s EITC and OSTC education scholarships. They're investments that deserve the increase state legislators are seeking.
Stations of the Cross: An ancient devotion that lives anew
Did you know the stations were once prayed in reverse? Father Gus Puleo reviews the devotion's history and its annual live reenactment in his parish.
As with spring, Christ’s light shines through our winter
Columnist Effie Caldarola see the emerging signs of life and light illuminating her spiritual darkness, and dispelling it.
The seedlings of spring bear lessons for life
Maureen Pratt has her seedlings off to a good start. Their growth has her thinking of how all good things grow, and how weeds also can arise.
How to lighten up without acting like a child
Erick Rommell knows the difference between a child's cuteness and an adult's creepiness. But to stay youthful, it's important to balance sober maturity with childlike joy.
By the fire pit, recalling love via the prodigal son
Effie Caldarola hopes her children would always welcome each other in love and mercy, no questions asked, in imitation of the parable of the prodigal son.
An idea: Get the poor to where the jobs are
Jesuit Father William Byron thinks a public-private partnership to offer free transportation for able-bodied workers to ready job sites could ease poverty in Philadelphia and other cities.
Whose life is it? The illogic of physician assisted suicide
We don't choose the circumstances of our birth and we are never completely in control of our lives. To claim we are the master of our own lives doesn’t make sense, and neither does suicide, writes Sister Constance Veit.
National Catholic journals unite: ‘Capital punishment must end’
The editors of four national Catholic publications cited Archbishop Chaput's recent statement and those of other prelates and governors in condemning use of the death penalty. Read the full editorial here.