Faith in Focus

Among the best-kept secrets of World War II was the presence of prisoner of war camps in the United States. With food in short supply in Europe and American supply ships returning empty from the front, the U.S. military devised a plan to maximize resources at home and abroad: supply ships would retu

"Arrive,” “draw near,” or “come to”—that’s how “advent” enters English via the Latin advenire. Its usage is wide-ranging. The Vulgate translates the Greek parousia as adventus, “arrival” or “presence,” associated most

The apocalyptic literature of the Bible, which includes most notably Daniel and the Book of Revelation, exists in the popular consciousness as a sort of hitchhiker’s guide to the end times, chock-full of predictions of the historical events that will lead to the end of human history. Given the

The season of Advent has a timeless liturgical spirituality of longing, redemption and grace and an interesting, somewhat convoluted history. The several strands of its development illustrate the way in which the whole liturgical year has evolved over many centuries in relationship to cosmic time, t

After receiving my bachelor’s degree in English from Fordham University in May, I have been full of doubts about the future: Can I find my true vocation? Will I find employment that is both challenging and exciting? What kind of accomplishments will I shamelessly be bragging about over cocktai

In early January of 2003, I was at dinner with Martina, who is now my wife, when I noticed a lump on the right side of my collarbone. It felt tough and nodular, but there was no pain. Martina and I tried to have a normal dinner, but concern got the best of us, and we dropped the rest of our evening

I had very mixed feelings driving to Mass a few Sundays ago. The pastor of the church I had been attending for years was retiring, and this would be his last Mass there. I was trying to feel happy for Father Don; he deserved to be free of the administrative duties of a pastor. I knew he wanted more

Until I lived in a homeless shelter, I did not know how bad things could getonions and grapes and bananas. That bananas could mold I never considered. An old banana went black and shrunk into itself, like a mummy; it could be frozen and revived later, slid from the peel into a bowl like a slick yell

Jesus called God “Abba” (“dear Father”), which tells us something about his relationship with God. In the same vein, he told his followers, “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father in heaven’” (Matt 6: 9), telling us that we have a similar relationship wi

I am troubled by what I see as a lack of unity in our church and wonder whether it results from a failure to appreciate precisely what kind of unity we Catholics should anticipate finding. Should we all hold and say the same thing, whether we are discussing a theological, philosophical, cultural or