Perspective

Part Six: To accompany others, we must share the Good News, the Gospel, the saving message of Jesus Christ. (Photo by Grant Whitty) Editor's Note: This column is part of a yearlong series on evangelization, breaking down what often feels like a tall order into real, practical, actionable steps towards intentional accompaniment. Part One: A Practical Guide for Everyday Catholics Part Two: Be A Disciple First Part Three: Discern Who to Accompany Part Four: Build Authentic Friendships Part Five:...

With the help of the Holy Spirit, traditionally depicted in the form of a dove (also a symbol of peace), we can create meaningful peace that will last. (Photo: Unsplash) Repetition, it’s said, can be the mother of learning. So, in light of recent Catholic debates about the pursuit of peace in the Middle East and elsewhere, permit me to reprise, with slight adjustments, parts of a column from twenty-four years ago. The points I made then seem to me as salient today as when I first made them:...

One woman shares how childhood wounds, anxiety and loss shaped her life — and how Christ led her toward grace, healing and freedom. A young Amanda, pictured here with her parents shortly before their divorce. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Flageolle) By Amanda Flageolle I’d like to tell you a story. It isn’t a fairy tale, though it does have a happy ending. It isn’t a tragedy, though it does have loss and sadness. It’s a true story; it’s my story. My story of belonging to a secret club I never...

The pierced heart of Christ reveals a path of mercy, communion and mission for the Church in America today, ahead of its 250th anniversary. (Photo: Unsplash) By Father Jim Thermos This June 11, the bishops of the United States are inviting each of us to draw nearer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as they consecrate the United States to that heart, burning for love of us. As that day approaches, we can glean new insight into that Heart and the call to intimacy that Jesus makes in each of our...

Through Bouguereau’s Pietà, one mother reflects on Mary, suffering and the staggering beauty woven into love itself during the month of mothers and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pietà by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, c. 1876. (Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons) “What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?” Venerable Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty As a mother, I can only answer, “nothing.” And while there are myriad paintings I could have chosen to honor the month of...

(Photo: Lightstock) I did not want to write about screens. I did not want to because, Lord knows, we are struggling to figure out screens for our own family. We make rules and guidelines, find them hard to stick to, and before you know it, we are back where we started with too much screen time. It feels like once you open Pandora’s box regarding devices, there’s almost no going back. But then, I was in our dentist’s waiting room on two different occasions, and what I witnessed gave me a sort...

The defeat of an "assisted dying" bill in the United Kingdom is a welcome win for the culture of life. (Photo: Unsplash) Good news not being thick on the ground these days, I’m delighted to note some very good news from the mother country: on April 24, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill failed to gain passage in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords, thus ending, for now, the efforts to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales. A month earlier, the Scottish Parliament, by a vote...

Inspired by St. Teresa of Calcutta, a reflection on why faithfulness — not results — is the true mark of Christian mission. (Photo: Lightstock) By Meg Stout In the world, success is the standard of all things worth doing. It exerts such quiet authority over our thinking that even our noblest efforts are instinctively weighed by their results. Even if we are, by some extraordinary grace, completely purified of vainglory, we still want that to which we are devoted to achieve the ends we have in...

Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets a child dressed as the pope from the popemobile while riding around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience March 11, 2026. (Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez) “All roads lead to Rome.” This proverbial saying from the ancient empire remained true even as Jesus’ disciples made their way across the world. The Eternal City, the capital of one of the world’s greatest empires, has served as the center of Christ’s Church for two thousand years,...

(Photo: Lightstock) By Jordan Langdon CEO + Marriage & Parenting Coach Families of Character During a recent Parenting Workshop at St. Thomas More Catholic School, I invited parents to reflect on their favorite childhood summer memories. “We rode bikes until the streetlights came on.” “My dad grilled every Sunday night.” “My cousins slept over for a week every summer.” “We caught fireflies.” “We went to the pool almost every day.” “There was always time.” As parents shared their memories, a...

(Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Denver Office of Catholic Schools) Before joining what once imagined itself the world’s greatest deliberative body, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) was a decorated naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut with four space shuttle missions to his credit. Now, like approximately 80% of his senatorial colleagues, Senator Kelly looks in the mirror in the morning and sees a future president. Before he takes the plunge, however, I hope Senator Kelly...

(Photo: Lightstock) By Randall Vette, PsyD St. Raphael Counseling, a ministry of Catholic Charities The most repeated phrase in all of Sacred Scripture is some variation of “Do not be afraid.” Apparently, the divine author knows what we need to hear because the most common mental health issue, by far, is anxiety — a fear-based emotion that becomes excessive. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 19.1% of U.S. adults experience clinical symptoms of anxiety annually. Generalized...