Commentaries
Christianity is a movement, not a monument
Jesuit Father William Byron writes that the rigidities of rule can cripple the movement Jesus began and replace it with monumental cathedrals, chancery offices, a promotion culture and brick-and-mortar barriers to the flow of loving people and liberating ideas that Jesus launched.
Life inside and outside the chapel at St. Charles Seminary
Brendan Monahan, now a veteran seminarian, shares the challenge and the deep joys of preparing to become a priest. The seminary experience is at its best, he observes, when he touches the lives of homeless men once a week in service.
In 2014, bringing hope to those struggling through despair
In 1969, singer Peggy Lee came out with the song, "Is That All There Is?" In it she reflects on major events in her life, and after each one sings, "Is that all there is?" leaving us with the feeling that life can sometimes feel empty.
Opting out of the Belgian solution
Recently, Belgium's Senate voted overwhelmingly to extend legal euthanasia to children of any age. The proposal, which will likely become law, limits the practice to children who are terminally ill, suffering great pain and have their parents' permission.
When Christians anywhere suffer, so do we all
Attacks on Christians throughout the world are on the rise, especially in the Middle East. U.S. Catholic bishops can insist that our country's leaders make the protection of at-risk Christians abroad a foreign policy priority for the United States.
Old age is a gift, not a calamity
Father William Byron gave a retreat this month for his elderly Jesuit brothers in which he quoted a confrere: "I view old age as a time of life which exemplifies in countless ways a great principle of our existence: the principle of growth through diminishment."
Change your language, change your world
Columnist Karen Osborne knows it can be hard to switch from negative language to positive language. Start today. When you hear yourself saying "don't," "can't" or "won't," turn it into "can" and "will." It's not easy, but it's worth it.
Greeting the new year with energy means slowing down
Feeling as if you'd like to hibernate the rest of the winter? Columnist Maureen Pratt knows the feeling. She offers a few tips to reenergize and raise our spirits as we end one year and look toward another.
On semi-auto pilot: A distinction without a difference
A reader chastised columnist Steve Kent for "spreading lies" in a recent column that called for a reversal of the gun culture in America. He incorrectly wrote the person who killed a Transportation Security Administration agent and wounded others at a Los Angeles Airport did so with an automatic rifle. It was in fact a semi-automatic rifle.
A 140-character look at two popes
Because communicating today is simple and inexpensive, we often mistakenly believe those words have little meaning, writes columnist Erick Rommel. That belief is incorrect. You can still learn a lot about a person in just a few words. Take for instance the Twitter messages of two people, Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI.