Minute Meditations
Suffering Unites Us with Christ
John Paul acknowledges that everyone suffers, and suffering is an evil because it diminishes physical and psychological well-being. It can also be spiritually destructive, leading as it does to doubt the existence of God. Why would a good and loving God allow pain in his world? It’s a question as old as Job.
Our Pilgrim Souls
Saint Francis spent almost half of his life on and in the mountains, and the other half he spent on the road entering and leaving cities. As Jesus walked up the mountain to pray, then descended and moved among the ...
Read More →
The Pope of Patience
Is it possible to describe Pope Francis in a single word? I will try to suggest one: the pope of patience. Young people, he recognizes, rightly feel the need to change the world. But, very quickly, as they grow up, ...
Read More →
God, the Good Father
What would you think of a father who took his daughter’s scribbled picture, tore it up, and told her not to draw again until she got it exactly right? No good father would do that!
Read More →
Mary, Our Mother
In the Psalm we said: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things” (Psalm 98:1). Today we consider one of the marvelous things which the Lord has done: Mary! A lowly and weak creature like ...
Read More →
Saint Francis: An Instrument of Joy
To Francis everything in him and around him was a gift from his Father in Heaven. He expected nothing, so he was grateful for everything. Even a piece of earth was cause for rejoicing, and he thanked God always for ...
Read More →
A Return to Formal Prayer
I come back once more to formal prayer, to the doxology that traditionally concludes the prayers we begin “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In the concluding doxology, too, we usually ...
Read More →
Sign Up for Our Daily Newsletter
Includes Saint of the Day, Minute Meditations, and Pause + Pray.