St. Jude is invoked in desperate or hopeless situations, perhaps because the Letter of Jude in the New Testament encourages the faithful to persevere and protect the faith in an especially difficult situation, in which “certain intruders have stolen in among you” (verse 4). More »

Today Pope Benedict is leading a pilgrimage to Assisi, the home of St. Francis, for “a day of reflection, dialogue, and prayer for peace and justice in the world.” Wherever we are, we can pray along, too. The “peace prayer” of St. Francis, which is probably not by the saint but which expresses his spirit, is especially appropriate today. More »

The theme for World Mission Day—October 23, 2011—is: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). Are we willing to be sent? Clearly, the degree to which we are willing to evangelize is linked to the degree to which we have understood the great work that Jesus has done in us and in the church. More »

Sometimes a friendship with a saint begins in a most unlikely way. For me, it started on a Friday afternoon, as I walked the campus of the large state university where I was a freshman. More »

My mother called with the news one cold October night. “Hello, Janet? I just wanted you to know that Grandma Grace is dying.” She continued with details of how Grandma had begun refusing food two days before. More »

It is clear from this parable that the farmer has way more than necessary to meet his own family’s needs since he intends to build a bigger barn to store his surplus. The difficult part for most Christians is to discern how much we really need. More »

Work, household chores, church commitments, school projects, and sports practices! How many days do you fall into bed feeling as if you were in motion all day without a moment to take a deep breath? Unfortunately, for many people, the sensation of being forcefully spun around in a daily whirlpool is all too commonplace. More »

Did you know that the Hebrew word "selah" occurs seventy times in thirty-nine of the psalms? While we don’t know for certain what it means, many biblical scholars believe that selah was a musical term used to indicate a pause in a song, whether for emphasis or for reflection. More »