Who can forget the events of September 11, 2001? They are stamped into our memories, and like other major events, they have played a part in shaping the way we view the world today. The anniversary of these terrorist attacks—and of the many others that have taken place around the world since then—is an opportunity to reflect on our reactions and response to any kind of threat or danger that seems to loom large. More »

The events surrounding our trip home on that hot, humid August morning have become blurred over time. But while so many of the particulars have faded, our conversation during that thirty-minute car ride remains fixed in my mind and my heart. More »

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who died on September 5, 1997, was one of the greatest spiritual “overachievers” of our time. She accomplished so much, that we might think she rarely took a break from tending to the human misery that surrounded her. More »

Mystics have a way of placing ancient truths in a new light. They present for us what we already believe but in a way that fills us with wonder and awe, as if we were seeing it for the first time. St. John of the Cross is one example, as he introduces us to what may be possible if we are truly in love with God. More »

“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Luke 12:51) More »

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was a member of a religious community, Our Lady of Loreto, when Jesus called her to begin the “new work” that would give rise to the Missionaries of Charity. Leaving the community was “the biggest sacrifice of my life,” she said later. “I suffered a lot when I left my family and my country to enter the convent when I was eighteen. But I suffered much more when I left the convent to begin the new work that Jesus had commanded me to do. More »

We all know what it is like to be thirsty. Working outside on a hot summer day or taking a long run can cause a huge thirst. Our mouth feels parched, we are hot and sweaty, and our whole body seems to be crying out for a drink—for anything that will cool us down and satisfy us. More »

The dazzling glory revealed at Jesus’ transfiguration was an expression of his divine nature and, as Archbishop Fulton Sheen so eloquently put it, “of the inherent loveliness of ‘him who came down from heaven.’ The wonder was not this momentary radiance around him; it was rather that at all other times it was repressed” (Life of Christ). More »