I grew up as the third oldest of six children in a liberal Jewish home. My parents were atheists, and for most of my early life I believed (as did they) in social justice but had no belief in God. Although my life had many ups and downs, nothing could prepare me for the devastation I would feel afte
Faith in Focus
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Assume Nothing
"Mom, can you and Dad pick up Paul and me?” Our 12-year-old Sean sounded strained and rushed during that surprise Saturday afternoon phone call 17 years ago. “Father Ron’s been acting strange. He wanted to wrestle with Paul and Paul said no, but he tried to do it anyway. And h
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Into the High Country
The days were lengthening. Daylight itself seemed brighter. The sap was rising in the trees, and with it I felt the wanderlust rising in me.
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Lourdes Diary: Seven days at Massabieille: Part Two
‘Even before dawn, there is a Mass being celebrated, and pilgrims are already here, kneeling before the space, running their hands over the rock, praying the Rosary and hoping for healing, as they have been doing since 1858.’
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Father James Martin’s Lourdes diary
Something you don’t hear every day from a Jesuit: I’m here to pick up a cassock for my trip to Lourdes.
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Living With My Sisters
I decided while Iwas living with nuns that I wanted to be a priest. I live with two of them, Pat and Ellenrita, and a fellow my own age, Mark, who’s also serving a Dominican Volunteer year in the Bronx. The nuns are pretty easy to live with, once you learn to clean up the shower, make sure nob
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Catholics love to discuss doctrine and the church. Why are they shy about Jesus?
Catholic students are quick to talk about their experience of church—but what about their experience of Christ?
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The Jesuits Are Too Liberal
The other evening, I was canvassing classmates for donations to the annual fund for the Jesuit high school I attended. A classmate I called said he would not make a contribution because he felt the Jesuits were too liberal. Whenever I hear something like that, I have a tendency to back off. We gradu
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Remembering First Communion
First Communion is a powerful church and family ritual; no one who has been present can miss its importance for the children taking part.
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Effortless Hope
We knew it was coming. Months before the recent release of the report of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice on sexual abuse of minors by members of the Catholic clergy, my fellow seminarians and I were forewarned on two separate occasions that the findings would be disturbing. We were told tha