ach-logo-en.svg

Columns

The culture of encounter

By Sr. Constance Veit
Pope Francis often speaks of what he calls a “culture of encounter.” During his visit to the United States, he hugged children and the elderly and warmly shook hands with everyone he met. The Holy Father was showing us what this culture of encounter looks like. Amazingly, we Little Sisters of the Poor received a […]
11/10/15
Reading Time 3 min

‘My beloved Krakow’

By George Weigel
Several years ago, Father Raymond de Souza, one of my fellow faculty members at an annual Krakow-based summer seminar on Catholic social doctrine, made a trenchant observation about the city St. John Paul II used to call “my beloved Krakow.” Krakow, Father de Souza observed, was the city where the 20th century happened in a […]
11/10/15
Reading Time 3 min

A patron saint for scientists

By Thomas Craughwell
It’s often said there is antagonism between faith and science, but in many respects it’s an artificial quarrel. Many scientists believe in God. Many religious believers marvel over the wonders of the universe revealed by science. And if any man bore witness that faith and science can coexist, it was St. Albert the Great. St. […]
11/10/15
Reading Time 3 min

The coming of the Lord

By Fr. Robert J. Wagner
The sun and moon go dark. Stars fall from the sky. The powers of heaven quake. Jesus tells us that these signs will accompany His second coming. His description of the upheaval of the natural world reminds us of the events that were recorded at the moment Jesus died on Calvary: “The earth quaked, rocks […]
11/10/15
Reading Time 3 min

Searching for peace with help from a sage

By Christina Capecchi
It is the book that somehow surfaces when you need it most – manna for the multi-tasker, solace for the stressed. It is the book you stock up on to give to others, to slip in Christmas stockings, to pay it forward. It is the book that spiritual directors recommend again and again: Father Jacques […]
11/10/15
Reading Time 3 min

Why do we celebrate the feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran?

By Fr. Larry Rice
The liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church is filled with feasts of the saints and commemorations of events in the life of Christ. But there are also occasional feasts that could do with a word or two of explanation. This weekend we celebrate one of those feasts: the dedication of the Basilica of St. John […]
11/6/15
Reading Time 2 min

Let God be the author

By Elizabeth Foss
I live my life in narrative. I love stories; they were the stuff and substance of my childhood, the things that framed my paradigm and gave shape to my dreams. Inside my head, there’s always a story going. Often the stories beg to be tapped out onto the pages of my blog or this column […]
11/4/15
Reading Time 3 min

The widow’s mite

By Fr. Stanley J. Krempa
The poor widow in today’s Gospel reading probably never imagined that her contribution to the temple treasury (sort of like an ongoing building fund) that she thought was private would be noticed by Christ and recounted for generations of Christians. Her private fidelity and generosity are in contrast with the public display of religiousness by […]
11/4/15
Reading Time 3 min

Our road to Zarephath

By Soren Johnson
One spring day in 1976, Henrietta Van Der Molen woke in her suburb of Chicago to find herself a widow. Her husband of nearly 40 years was dead of a heart attack at the age of 59. What Henrietta did next merits study in our “Age of the Selfie,” our culture of the “Big Me.” […]
11/4/15
Reading Time 3 min

The pope and the synod

By Russell Shaw
So now it’s up to Pope Francis. Followup to the Synod on the Family rests firmly in the hands of this paradoxical pontiff who champions consultation, collegiality and synodality while practicing a highly centralized management style. The pope’s closing remarks to the synod Oct. 25 offered few solid hints about what he would do. But […]
11/2/15
Reading Time 3 min

Popular

Popular