From the moment of her birth, my granddaughter has retaught me one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we learn at Confirmation: a sense of wonder and awe.
Faith in Focus
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This Earth Day, meet the artist making beautiful icons of God’s endangered creatures
Artist Angela Manno creates Byzantine Russian-style icons of threatened and endangered plant and animal species. And they are really extraordinary.
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Toward Something Greater: A tribute to a family matriarch who shunned the spotlight
We ended the day of my mother’s funeral looking forward to the new life ahead of us. No better tribute could be offered to such a selfless and sacrificial woman.
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Why I take my teens to Mass—even when they struggle with Catholicism
I hope their belief will deepen. And I hope that my fellow Catholics in the pews will demonstrate that the wider church wants them there too.
Posted inFaith in Focus, Politics & Society
I was at the first Earth Day. And I carry what I learned about care for creation to this day.
The first Earth Day aligned people of all political stripes and cultural backgrounds, because who wouldn’t want to conserve the environment and stop air pollution?
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Writing music for the women of the Passion helped me embrace the contradictions of being Catholic
The Notre Dame Folk Choir was like a family I did not want to leave behind.
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The grace of going through confirmation in college
Many young Catholics I know were compelled to be confirmed by family members who felt the sacrament was important. My situation was the opposite—I was confirmed of my own volition.
Posted inArts & Culture, Faith in Focus
Balenciaga Pope: What an A.I.-generated puffer coat reveals about Francis’ appeal
Pope Francis didn’t wear Balenciaga. I can’t imagine he ever will. But if we keep our eyes peeled, it won’t be long before we see him do something just as eye-popping to reveal once again to us the challenging, merciful love of God.
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The case against confirming baptized Christians at the Easter Vigil
To receive already baptized Christians into the church at the vigil may be well-intentioned, but liturgically speaking, it is akin to suggesting that the candidates were not actually Christians before being received into the church.
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Pope Francis’ hospitalization actually gave me hope for the Catholic Church
I was pleasantly surprised to realize that amid all the polarization and turmoil found online among Catholics, we can still come together to pray for an old man who happens to be our pope.