Frequent contributor Brian Doyle writes, furious and haunted and mourning, from Oregon, where nine people were murdered and 10 others crippled by a gun-toting...
Personal spirituality
Read U.S. Catholic’s coverage of personal spirituality, offering insights, stories, and resources to nurture your prayer, discernment, and spiritual growth.
My wife and I run together at a local state park. “Together” is optimistic; I can no longer keep pace with her. We ran track together in college, but I am a...
“That’s Jesus, Mama!” shouted my cousin’s exuberant daughter, Claire. Her mother was reading to her not from the gospels, but from the climactic scene of The...
“Secure your oxygen mask before helping others.” Many of us don’t even pay attention to these words anymore. We’re old hands at flying, so while the flight...
By Ann LeBlanc I’m not a good Catholic. I can be arrogant, intolerant, and self-centered. I’m judgmental, I swear, and I can (and do) say perfectly horrible...
As Ebola patients began to die in Africa last summer, it was not difficult for me to revisit the memory of my first AIDS patient. His death hurled me into an...
I once found great comfort in the black-and-white world of apologetics. The Catechism of the Catholic Church provided the answers to all of my questions...
One of the most valuable experiences from my boarding school days—and one that has remained with me—is the habit of formal prayer. I remember praying the Nunc...
I can’t remember when I learned to knit. I know it was sometime when, as a small child, I watched my mom creating a sweater or afghan and wanted to do the same...
It seems clear by this point that some spiritual experiences can be observed in the brain. But is it possible to use what scientists are learning about the...
