May is a great time for thinking about decisions and futures. We celebrate ordinations, graduations, weddings…. We honor what has been achieved in people’s lives or our own, and we turn our eyes toward the next stage of our journey in life, whatever it may be.It is a wonderful blessing to us all that in the month of May we reflect on Mary, a woman who had to make a very important decision when she was probably just in her teenage years. She shows us the courageous spirit that makes decision-ma...

In mid-life a certain question begins to nag us a little more often than it might have before: Am I doing God’s will? Have I found my mission in life? Or more simply: Should I choose option A or option B? How do I know what God wants of me in this or that situation?A woman came to me many years ago after I had given a talk, asking for help in making a decision for a career change. We only had an hour, but I agreed to sit down and speak with her. She had a grandson in the prison system, and duri...

A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by God to give grace. That’s the definition I memorized as a little girl. As a child I knew of seven sacraments of the Church. As I matured I learned that you and I could be “sacraments” to others in as much as we allow Jesus to work in and through us. The more we empty ourselves of our self, the more we allow Jesus to work in us. This coming out of ourselves or self-emptying allows us to be signs of God’s love and presence to those around us. I want...

Remember when, about four years ago, conservative Glenn Beck equated social justice with Communism, advising Christians to leave their churches if they ever heard the words uttered there? “If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish. Go alert your bishop.” Yet, the Church has had a body of teaching on social justice for almost 125 years. Evidently pundit Beck didn’t get that memo. People tire of hearing the words “social justice,” especially in connection wit...

A beautiful documentary about the importance of the family, co-produced by Focus on the Family with many Christian and Catholic filmmakers and experts, has a one-day, one-time theatrical evening showing in mainstream theaters: Tuesday, May 6th in the USA, and Wednesday, May 7th in Canada. The film is not rated; Focus on the Family recommends it for teens 15 and older because topics such as sexuality and family issues may be spoken about too explicitly for children. From the film's webs...

Scarcely two weeks have passed since I assisted a dying woman. This was not the first time, but each time the experience is new and personal.  I watched her as she lay there, unable to open her eyes or to speak, her breathing labored. I gazed on her face, attentive for signs of what she might be experiencing. My heart ached each time she moaned in pain. Family and friends surrounded her; I was glad that she would not make this journey alone. She had been lonely much of her 85 years: th...

November 15, 2013 (Boston) — Pauline Books & Media is proud to announce the release of Contraception and Catholicism: What the Church Teaches and Why, by Angela Franks, PhD.In this new publication, Franks tackles perhaps the most widely misunderstood Catholic Church teaching of all: contraception. Franks knows firsthand the confusions and objections that arise in response to this controversial subject matter, since as a young Catholic she also questioned the Church’s stance on contraceptio...

September 1, 2013 (Boston) — Pauline Books & Media is pleased to announce the release of Meeting Jesus Christ: Meditations on the Word by Reverend Monsignor J. Brian Bransfield, author of the best-selling The Human Person: According to John Paul II (Pauline Books & Media, 2010) and Living the Beatitudes: A Journey to Life in Christ (Pauline Books & Media, 2011).Monsignor J. Brian Bransfield is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who serves as the Associate General Secretary ...