It was an adolescent prank—pears stolen from a neighbor’s tree. But as Augustine looked back on the incident many years later, it seemed reprehensible to him. More »

Several years back, I was in a garden and admired the huge leaf of an elephant leaf plant. It just sat there absorbing the sun’s energy. I took a photo of that magnificent leaf because it was doing what I want to do: absorbing sunlight the way I should absorb God’s love. 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 »

A friend of mine, the mother of eight young children, used to save money by purchasing food in large quantities. One day she set down a fifty-pound bag of flour and it broke open, scattering flour everywhere. More »

When my wife and I began taking groups of pilgrims overseas some years ago, we prepared for each trip by making an exhaustive search of every local site that might be of interest to Catholics. It was fun to discover a shrine, church, monument, or memorial that we could work into each group’s travel itinerary. More »