The two most recent selections for the Catholic Book Club were novels that originally began as short stories.
Faith
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Sinéad O’Connor longs for transcendence in ‘Rememberings’
At the heart of Sinéad O’Connor’s new memoir is her sense of transcendence and her longing for it, as well as the depth of her religious imagination since childhood.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Mandolinist and singer-songwriter Chris Thile writes psalms for those who struggle to believe — or belong
In “Laysongs,” mandolinist Chris Thile lays theatrics and sea captains aside and sings simply and honestly about his struggle to believe.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
I lost my baby and my father. But not my trust in God.
My parents instilled in me the lesson that no matter what life threw at me, God would always be there to guide me.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
My Hispanic Heritage Month message to my newborn son: Don’t be ashamed of your Latin American roots
It is important to recognize and celebrate the history of Latinos in the U.S., especially in the church, where the majority of Catholics under 30 have Latin American roots.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis: Open your hearts to a faith that becomes compassion
Celebrating Mass on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the pope encouraged Slovak Catholics to open their hearts to a faith that “identifies with those who are hurting, suffering and forced to bear heavy crosses.”
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The year the Twin Towers fell, the Yankees lost the World Series—and God could do nothing about it.
That heartbreaking baseball defeat seeming to distill and crystallize all of it; pointing to something so bleak, sad and hopeless tucked into the fabric of everything.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Kirstin Valdez Quade’s debut novel explores grace and tension across five generations of a New Mexico Catholic family
In ‘The Five Wounds,’ Kirstin Valdez Quade depicts a family in which each member embodies human weaknesses yet remains worthy of love. Each finds they are stronger together than any of them is alone.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
I am a queer Catholic. When will the church feel like home?
I want to belong to a church that is willing to see my L.G.B.T.Q. siblings and me as just like straight and cisgender Catholics in our striving to follow Jesus. Can Catholic church leaders stand in my shoes?
Posted inFaith, Of Many Things
Whether the Mass is in Latin or the vernacular—it’s the same Eucharist that unites the church
I am awestruck by the beauty of the Eucharist wherever I encounter it. That’s a big reason why the so-called liturgy wars bore me.