When I was little, I was very shy. Once I went with my cousin Kathy to her friend Linda’s house. We knocked and walked into the kitchen, where Linda’s mother...
Lent
Explore U.S. Catholic coverage of Lent, connecting traditional practices with modern life, justice, and spiritual renewal.
Apocalypse is so in right now. It’s almost an essential part of the cultural landscape. It’s not just sci-fi that takes us into the realm where everything...
On Good Friday millions of Christians prayerfully mark the way of the cross. Pope Francis often notes that Christ’s crucifixion is not just historical but...
I took my son to church for Holy Thursday for the first time last year when he was just more than 18 months old. I worried that we’d have to leave early or...
Memories of a Catholic boyhood. It is Ash Wednesday, and the choices about what to give up for Lent finally take effect. I remember that Ash Wednesday meant...
How do you pray? The way I pray changes often. Sometimes it’s intentional, quiet, in front of a candle even. At other times, it’s simply sitting...
No one has asked me, but I am ready with a jim-dandy slogan for promoting good books: Don’t read spiritual books during Lent. Not only will this slogan put...
The analogy of Lent as a desert has never worked for me. I was born and raised in Wisconsin, and except for a year spent in Chicago, I’ve lived here my whole...
Ash Wednesday has become a very popular feast day, perhaps more important to some people than Holy Days of Obligation. At Marquette University, where I teach...
On January 21st of this year, the Vatican announced a change to the Roman Missal, per the request of Pope Francis, that women would no longer officially be...
