We are alive because of our ancestors, that “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews (12:1). Our grandmothers and grandfathers...
Personal spirituality
Read U.S. Catholic’s coverage of personal spirituality, offering insights, stories, and resources to nurture your prayer, discernment, and spiritual growth.
When I was about 8 years old, my mom bought a book in Spanish called Créalo, Sí Se Puede (Believe It, Yes You Can) by the Mexican motivational speaker Alex Dey...
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us . . . run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1–2) The...
When I was 13, I crashed while attempting a new tumbling pass at gymnastics practice. I spent the night in the hospital and woke up with a cast stretching from...
When my husband and I purchased our first home last year—a single-family colonial in an idyllic planned community—we were excited to decorate indoors and out...
If heaven has a soundtrack, it surely includes the greatest hits of the 1990s. You will not be able to convince this biased Millennial otherwise. A few friends...
If I give you a rose, you will not doubt God. —St. Clement of Alexandria A decade before he died, in my front yard my dad and I planted one deep red tea rose...
Picture this: a warm midspring morning, predawn. Nobody is awake. The birds chirp. The trees gently rustle. The air is fresh. The world is coated with a light...
Although many Catholics might find them unassuming, devotions and the popular piety that surrounds them are often met with scorn. They can be one of the...
Each of us contains a multiplicity of selves. This becomes most obvious to us when we experience an inner conflict of desires. Perhaps our desire for a more...
