A time for tears
The Way of the Cross is a popular devotion during Lent, allowing us to plumb the depths of the Paschal Mystery. It is a...
‘Take comfort, My people’
"Take comfort, my people” (Is 40:1) is a common enough phrase during the Advent season, but there is no reason why this divine directive...
Heaven is a personal encounter
Quite recently, I happened across a catechetical video from quite a large Catholic apostolate which included a segment asking people about what they imagined...
A precarious balance
Somewhere in our childhood, surely, we encountered the image of a trick rider, who managed to stand on the backs of two racing ponies...
The power of small courtesies
In 1982, sociologists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling introduced the “broken window theory” in The Atlantic Monthly magazine, suggesting that when small acts of...
Elizabeth and the Commonweal
England’s longest reigning monarch has been mourned, acclaimed, and properly buried. Although the airwaves were replete with solemn remembrances, wistful memories, and in-depth scrutiny...
The tilt of the world
Being older, I can confirm that the playgrounds of my childhood were somewhat less safe than those at present, and one encounter with a...
Tension without Tension
The mother as a bridge between generations is as firm a sign of the Church as any that exists, for she is called to...
No quarantine for grace
In our current trial, in which anxious people are isolated from their normal routines — including attendance at Holy Mass — we have a wonderful teaching moment to reiterate what the Catholic...
The classroom writ large
Three of my children are now parents, and they are to varying degrees intrigued with the Montessori philosophy of child rearing. While I didn’t...
