The year was 1994. I was five years old and on the “little league” soccer team of Holy Rosary Catholic School in Memphis, Tennessee. I was eager to play, but after only a few moments on the field, my legs would begin to twinge in pain and feel too heavy to run. More »

My stomach sank and my face went numb as I opened the gift addressed to me. It contained the small Christmas stocking I had hand-stitched for my stepmother two years before. More »

Imagine that you are a budding concert pianist facing your debut performance. You’re terrified. “What if I foul up?” you keep asking yourself. More »

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Let us pray together these prayers: More »

The Feast of the Presentation is one of those celebrations that means more than one thing. It recalls the way Mary and Joseph followed Jewish law concerning ritual purity for a mother who had recently given birth. More »

Italy in the mid-1880s was not the best place for farming families. Many farms were failing, and in the face of mounting poverty, parents sent their sons into the cities to work in the rapidly expanding factories. Sadly, however, with no child labor laws, these boys were often subjected to very harsh conditions. More »

Grant me, almighty and merciful God, to desire fervently, to investigate wisely, to acknowledge sincerely, and to fulfill perfectly the things that please you. More »

For the first part of his life, Matthew Kelly had what he describes as a “rather casual” relationship with God. Growing up in Sydney, Australia, he attended Sunday Mass with his family and prayed “sometimes—when I wanted something.” But for the most part, God seemed far away. More »