Who would have thought the old man had so much courage in him? The story you are about to read is the earliest known account of a Christian martyrdom. Written about a.d. 156, within a year of the event it describes, it is an authentic eyewitness report of the heroic death of an elderly man named Polycarp. More »

Build up others this Lent with your thoughts on the Sunday Mass readings and meditation. Three questions for reflection and discussion will be offered for Ash Wednesday and each of the six Sundays during Lent. Please pray through the questions and share your insights or what the Lord spoke to you in the comments area below. Your words will inspire others in The Word Among Us community and encourage them during this grace-filled season. More »

About twelve years ago, St. Joseph came into my life in a new way. Not long before, I had taken the plunge from singlehood to married life, jumping into the deep end of the pool by marrying a widower with six children. More »

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). When a mother watches her little child get on the school bus and head off to kindergarten for the first time, her heart may be filled with a swirling eddy of emotions—pride, loss, sadness, nostalgia, excitement, joy, and fear—all with a little faith mixed in. More »

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” More »

The girl was walking in the fields some ways off from her home, when two strangers appeared and asked her to pick them some fruit. Brought up to show courtesy to adults, the nine-year-old hurried to obey. Not until she was in the forest did she realize it was a trick. More »

How many times have we heard someone tell us that God loves us? Love is a powerful and profound experience and yet those words—"God loves you"—can be so easily forgotten amid the day-to-day routine of life. More »

In Mark 7, we find some of the most revolutionary teachings in the New Testament. With prophetic insight, Jesus spoke out against the external practices that had been adopted and endorsed as the essence of religious worship. More »