Accessible Holiness: The good news: We’re all invited. The bad news: It takes effort.
Jesus loves imperfect people. On that score, all of us qualify.
Six Questions for Vincent Gragnani
In the July 30-August 6 edition of America, Vincent Gragnani writes about the new, lay face of missionaries. As the number of priests and religious ministry around the globe declines, he writes, lay people are helping to fill the gap. Mr. Gragnani is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Where have all the book reviews gone?
Letters
Letters
Through the Fog My thanks and congratulations to Bishop Donald W. Trautman for his excellent article on the new Mass translations being moved forward by the Inter-national Commission on English in the Liturgy (5/21). I must admit that reading it saddened me, because it is yet another indication of t
Editorials
Food Stamps
Politicians pushing shopping carts down supermarket aisles are not an ordinary sight. But some in public office have been doing just that in accepting a weeklong challenge to experience the difficulties of living on a food stamp allowance of barely more than one dollar per meal. This year Congress m
Features
The New, Lay Face of Missionaries
For many Catholics, the word missionary brings to mind a centuries-old image of a priest planting a cross in a foreign land and teaching, baptizing and celebrating Mass for its people. Or it may conjure up the slightly more modern image of women religious running a school in Africa or Latin America.
Faith in Focus
Our Mother’s Funeral
We still miss our mother, but with no regrets and an awareness of the flow of life.
A Partner for the Pastor: Tips for finding the right person
To be pastor for a typical Catholic parish these days is to attempt the impossible, for the pastor’s role has grown too large. It includes pastoral duties (preaching, counseling, presiding at liturgies, administrating sacraments, visiting parishioners), managing human resources (staff directio
Books
An Order of Its Own
The permanent diaconate a reality in the ecclesial structure of the church in the United States since its renewal by the Second Vatican Council has been the topic of several volumes in the Paulist Press Deacon rsquo s Library series Kenan Osborne O F M emeritus professor of systematic theology
The Original Feast Day
In the Los Angeles area a community of observant Jews wants to bring picnic baskets to the beach on Saturdays Surprisingly this has put them at odds with both the Sierra Club and the staff of the California Coastal Commission According to Talmud a Jew may not schlep anything outside his home on
Behind (and Beyond) the Walls
Early Christian literature both Greek and Latin tells us that there is a long history of Christian women living in celibate communities of prayer and service By the end of the fourth century at least such communities were not unusual and through the Middle Ages in the West womens monastic est
Poetry
Job
You live in unremitting darkness,
The Word
The Rich Fool
It is no secret that we Americans live in a materialistic culture For some people the pursuit of wealth and possessions seems to function as a kind of religion substitute The Old Testament wisdom books and the New Testament writings have some wise things to say about money and possessions While a
Faith and Hope
ldquo Faith is the realization of what is hoped for rdquo Heb 11 1 Faith and hope are two of the theological virtues They are called theological because they have their origin and goal in God While theologians make precise distinctions between them in the Bible they tend to blend together be
Columns
Newark Remembers: ‘The city exploded 40 years ago in a…what?’
Five miles from my living room, in a world about which I know very little, men and women are gathering in a public space in downtown Newark, N.J., to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a riot. The city of Newark exploded 40 years ago this month. It exploded because of a rumora cabdriver, it was…
Current Comment
Current Comment
Stiff Upper LipThe British are famous for their steadiness in the midst of crisis. Londoners had their finest hour as they endured the blitz in 1940 with the proverbial stiff upper lip. Over the past three decades they endured numerous terrorist bombings by the I.R.A. and the assassination of Lord L
Faith
The New, Lay Face of Missionaries
For many Catholics, the word missionary brings to mind a centuries-old image of a priest planting a cross in a foreign land and teaching, baptizing and celebrating Mass for its people. Or it may conjure up the slightly more modern image of women religious running a school in Africa or Latin America.
News
Signs of the Times
China Reserves Right to Elect, Ordain Bishops A Catholic lay leader from Beijing said China will continue to self-elect and self-ordain bishops. We ordain bishops only for the sake of evangelization in the mainland. Nobody can stop us, said Anthony Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts