Pope Francis: A call to listen and respond in love

A reflection from Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv.

I was appointed by Pope Francis as the fifth Bishop of Charlotte in April of 2024, so it is safe to say that he holds a special place in my life and in my heart.

Laura Kelly Fanucci: Walk the Emmaus road this Easter season

Right now is a difficult time for nearly every family I know. Parents are stressed. Teens are depressed. Kids are anxious.

Studies on mental health back this up with statistics, but start a conversation with friends, family, neighbors or parishioners and you’ll soon hear stories of struggle and suffering.

Jeff Morgan: The spiritual problem – and opportunity – of boredom, even on a CLT tarmac

At the start of a recent semester, I showed a YouTube video to my students that lauded the perks of ditching social media. I thought it was a clever accompaniment to the assigned reading from Pascal’s “Pensées,” where Pascal argues that we seek distraction to avoid living with purpose before God.

All that I am desires union with I AM

The idea of union with God is, for most people, alternately attractive and terrifying.

Brian Pusateri: It’s time for us to move

Moving is never easy. It can disrupt our routines, pull us away from friends, and fill us with uncertainty. Yet sometimes we know deep down that we’re being called to move.

John Allen Jr.: In defense of Christian missionary efforts

Of all the challenges facing Christian evangelists today, one of the most pernicious concerns yesterday. It’s the charge that Christian evangelism over the centuries has been a destructive force, aligned with European colonialism and bent on the exploitation and, ultimately, the destruction of Indigenous cultures.

Jaymie Stuart Wolfe: Seek a new heart this Lent

I know it’s part of getting older, but when my husband was told to go to the ER because a clinical trial EKG had revealed an irregular heartbeat, I was startled almost into one of my own.

Chad Engelland: What’s lost if machines create and we only consume?

Modern machines are amazing, complex, intricate. There is not a task that they cannot do and do better than a human laborer. No longer do people have to spend hours over the washboard or churning butter or grinding grain; no longer do people have to spend hours in the fields or fashioning things. Instead, all we need to do is run our machines and call someone if they happen to break down.