18th Sunday We only have to look at so-called reality television to see just how far some of our compatriots will go to be famous to be wealthy or to be part of the popular imagination We should never be surprised when our media culture reflects this back to us And by watching these programs re

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

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.

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

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

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

Jesus loves imperfect people. On that score, all of us qualify.

We still miss our mother, but with no regrets and an awareness of the flow of life.

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 and a former staff writer at the Southern Cross, the diocesan newspaper of the diocese of San Diego. In addition to publishing in America, he has written for St. Anthony Messenger, One and U.S. Catholic. Mr. Gragnani agreed to discuss his article by email.

How many lay missionaries are working today?

Did you know that Lincoln s Gettysburg address was 250 words long The man before Lincoln spoke for over an hour The man who followed Lincoln spoke for even longer Today no one remembers what they said Lincoln s 2 minutes by contrast changed the USA s history and the mentality of the