Franciscan Spirit

After the crucifixion of Jesus, Scripture tells us that the disciples were in the Upper Room and the doors were locked “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19).

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a mom, it’s that it’s not always easy. And that while we relish the tender moments, sometimes it involves making tough choices. Enter Saint Gianna Beretta Molla—pediatrician, wife, mother, saint.

Sister Holda, my Franciscan sixth-grade teacher at St. Peter’s in Skokie, Illinois, made all of us memorize Anima Christi.

And even that wasn’t the worst. “I was really emotional in a moment where really no one saw,” Boehner said in a press conference.

Our understanding of penance is based on our understanding of sin.

When Vatican II described the Eucharist as the “source and summit of the Church’s life” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #10), Catholics began to participate more actively at Mass, now celebrated in their mother tongue.