At sixteen years old, I was a “good Catholic kid.” I went to church every Sunday and on the surface seemed confident and even spiritual. More »

Years ago, as a fledgling reporter for a diocesan newspaper, I remarked that the paper’s weekly presentations of the Sunday Gospels for children were too complex for four-to-twelve-year-olds. “If you think you can do better, give me three columns by the end of the week,” my editor replied—and suddenly I had added “columnist” to my job description. More »

Tom and Ann, two members of their parish’s prison outreach team, joined Fr. Joe one Sunday as he celebrated Mass for the men in a local correctional institution. More »

On a spring day in 1916, three children watched their family's sheep on a hillside in rural Portugal. Completely oblivious to the fact that their country was at war and that Pope Benedict XV was begging Mary's intercession and lamenting World War I as the “suicide of Europe,” the children sang, danced, and played games. More »

The most famous photograph we have of him was taken just a few weeks before his death. It depicts a priest in a faded black cassock, wearing a battered hat whose sides are held up by string. More »

A woman stands looking at her reflection in the mirror. So much had changed in the year since she got married: a new home, a loving husband, and now, a baby about to be born. More »

Scripture tells us that the word of God is active and living (Hebrews 4:12), and I know it’s true. In my life, there are times when God’s word is moving in me even when I don’t realize it—and only later does God show me how he was working out his promises. More »

One day, in a fundraising mailing from a religious organization, I received a five-by-seven image of Christ that depicted him in a way I had never seen before. More »