Every day I read the news, I am confronted with terror, persecution, injustice, pandemic threats, and the death of the innocent at the hands of extremists who have chosen violence to advance their goals. I’m starting to feel apprehensive and angry and perhaps even a little guilty as I enjoy relative peace in my own life. I wonder if I would be ready to die for my love for Jesus, if the moment came. I torment myself with questions about what I should change in my lifestyle to live in solida...

 “We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be."USCCB on Solidarity Sunday, August 17, 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Peace and blessing to you. I pray this message finds you all well in this summer season. Inspired by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ announcement of observing Sunday, August 17, as a Day of Prayer for peace in Iraq, I take this initiative ...

Hi Moms! Have you ever had to deal with your child whining, “Mom, why can’t I have that?” as you navigate the grocery store? Hey there, Dads! Do your kids sometimes want to do some activity that’s a bit too old for them and you have to tell them, “When you get older, OK?” and they don’t particularly like that response? I know my parents did when I was growing up and I wasn’t always ready to hear what they were trying to teach me about not being selfish and thinking of others before mysel...

Nobody likes to be alone…not for Christmas…not ever. There is a deeply felt, absolutely essential core thirst within us for connection. Where does it come from? This drive for being a part of a network of relationships exists within us because WE ARE in a network of relationships. It starts with the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit giving and receiving the gift of love among themselves and extending the invitation to us to participate in the divine communion. In that awareness, I real...

There is something special about a person’s last words. We gather around the bed of our loved ones as they live their final moments, soaking in any remaining bits of wisdom they may have for us. Naturally, then, the Church has taken very seriously the final words of Jesus before the Ascension: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you....

How many days left? 28 days, 12 hours, 7 minutes, and 2 seconds before first profession, that is, publicly professing the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience as a Daughter of St. Paul.How did I get here? Me? No, this isn’t about me. My daily 'yes' to God's invitation is only a drop in the ocean of 'yes-es' uttered by every person who has lived to seek and follow God's will. In truth, only God knows completely how I got here.The first time my heart felt that God might be calling me to ...

“How can I make you happy?” Most days I don’t really know the answer to this question—if you ask my husband he will tell you honestly he has been trying to figure that one out for thirty-plus years! But we both know one thing that consistently makes me happy—a book. As a publicist here at Pauline Books & Media, I am surrounded by books, and am blessed to work with many talented authors. Sometimes, however, God reaches out with his grace and touches me with the words of an author I will ...

by Richard SpinelloIn the midst of a mid-day snowfall, an odd-looking couple stood outside the Hilton Hotel in New York City answering a skeptical reporter’s intrusive questions.  The reporter was doing a feature story for a network news magazine on mail order brides.  The lanky 51-year old man being interviewed had recently welcomed his new “bride-to-be” from Russia.  She had been in the United States only a few days and spoke very little English.  Neverthe...

In Redwood City we really were avant-garde. We had to be. After all, this was California! In 2007 our media techie, Sr. Domenica, scraped together some funds to buy a screen for our Pauline Books & Media Center, so we could show promo videos we made locally about our titles. They weren’t spit and polish, but they were attention grabbing. And people responded.   So, when Dr. Michael Waldstein completed a new translation of the Wednesday General Audiences that Pope John Paul ha...

Summer months are here. Kids are out of school. Some of the pressures that fill our lives from September to May are not as heavy. We have the chance to steal away for vacation, even if it's for just a week-end. I often think of all the vacations we went on as children…. They were great fun…for us kids. While I’m sure my parents enjoyed them also, they were still the parents even on vacation, still doing the driving, the disciplining, the listening, the teaching, the ...