Elizabeth Scali: I brought a heart full of fury with me to Mass – and left it there

Small sparks of feeling that become all-consuming conflagrations can happen at any time, even, sadly, as one is preparing for Mass.

I write, of course, from experience.

The details aren’t important. Life is hard sometimes. Living with others, even when we love and value them, can still be a challenge. Stupid arguments encourage thoughtless pronouncements that turn seeming scud missiles – destructive enough – into H-bombs, where exteriors look unharmed while inside there is startling, shriveling death.

Colleen Pressprich: Cultivate a relationship with Mary

Our family has a beautiful vegetable garden, one that I spend a great deal of time in during the summer months. Our raised beds are bursting with life and flavor. My mother has a green thumb, and I learned early on in life that gardens are the work of years, not months, and that gardening is work to be done in all seasons.

Father Joshua J. Whitfield:What is your answer to: ‘Who do you say that I am?’

Hassled for a sign, I imagine worn out, Jesus turns to his disciples. As if giving something of a pop quiz, frustrated He asks them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Isabel Lavie: Donations make a difference after quake’s destruction

On June 24, 2026, the unthinkable happened. Two earthquakes, one following quickly after another, left families in Venezuela broken and afraid. Thousands died, and tens of thousands were injured.
We are fortunate that our family members are safe and healthy, although for a while we lived through the fear and uncertainty of not knowing if my grandmother had survived. Many, many other families were not so lucky.

Katie Yoder: Human imperfections can’t erase our worth

My husband and I were traveling through the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York when we began reading Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical addressing artificial intelligence. “Read this part,” my husband told me, after spotting a quote he knew I’d like.

Father Cook: Reclaiming the good life: How faith, labor and creation form virtue

In the midst of a culture that obscures the true nature of things, many Catholic parents are striving to help their children encounter something increasingly rare: reality itself, as a participation in the truth and goodness of God’s creation.

The modern technological world offers many blessings, but it also presents significant challenges. Children can spend hours each day in virtual environments while becoming increasingly disconnected from nature, community and even their own families. The result is often a life filled with activity yet lacking rootedness in what it means to live as a Catholic family.

Micah Burgess: Seminarians bring prayer and hope to the streets of Charlotte

Ever since I was young, I have felt a calling to help the homeless.

It started with my mom, who always carried bottles of water in the car so we could share them with people we drove by. We also packed bags of hygiene supplies and food for my dad to hand out as he drove his concrete truck through the streets of Charlotte.

April Parker: We belong to one another

Mother Teresa said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Most of us can attest to belonging to some type of group, whether it be family, friends, fraternities, teams or neighborhoods.