A few minutes of deep breathing is an easy and refreshing way to take a break, clear my mind, check my body for stress-related aches, and get a renewed start on the tasks of the day.

May this prayer soothe our hearts and quiet our minds on this day.

Perhaps no other virtue is more associated with St. Francis of Assisi than peace. He made peace with people, with animals, in the Church, and within civil society.

When King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, 250,000 people in DC stood spellbound. It’s perhaps the most important oration of the 20th century.

Stressed over the state of the country and our world? Forget the quick fixes. Take your pain to God.

Over the years, I’ve worked out a plan to quiet critical voices in my head with these the four questions.

Living lives devoted to peace and justice is like a flame illuminating a blackened sky. Francis of Assisi was such a light in his lifetime and he is calling us to be the same.

A deficiency of it shows itself in more subtle ways: discouragement, putting our trust in everything but God, or focusing too much on the negative in the world.

I believe—I choose and keep choosing to believe—that God wants us to be one and will help us on that path.