We all want to live out our faith, knowing—with St. Francis—that we may be the only Gospel our neighbor ever reads. But it’s easy to be not exactly blinded, but rather oblivious, to ways that could make our lives real, vibrant, to allow us to walk with Jesus through the challenges of the 21st century, and particularly in terms of racial justice.Lorna DesRoses, the Coordinator of Black Catholic Ministries at the Archdiocese of Boston, has had this on her mind for some time. &ldq...

Now that several Covid-19 vaccines are in production, you may be asking yourself the question, “Should I get vaccinated?” Some Catholics are wrestling with this question because these first couple of vaccines have some connection with abortion. Here's a moral framework to help you think this through.... The first vaccines that have been approved for the Covid-19 virus raise moral issues because they have a connection with morally compromised cell lines. Kidney cells from a b...

A new year is always a time for hope, and no new year has been looked to with such anticipation than this one! So we caught up with two of Pauline Books & Media’s favorite authors to see what their “hopes” are for 2021.Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is a Daughter of St. Paul and the author of Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Emmanuel College, Boston, Massachusetts and a Masters in Theological Studies from Weston ...

A few years ago I went to see the tall ships that were visiting Boston harbor. On my way home I stopped at Saint Anthony’s Shrine downtown. As I was walking toward it I noticed a tall, thin man hanging around in front of the church, sort of huddled into a corner wall. Though he looked around furtively through his black-rimmed glasses and seemed a bit timid, he didn't appear to be begging. True to my New York upbringing, I began to walk quickly past, pretending not to notice. As I went ...

We have started to do book studies via Zoom, and these book studies are blessing folks left and right! I am excited to announce that we will be starting a new book study on SAINTS ALIVE: THE GOSPEL WITNESSED. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses and we are so oblivious sometimes! SAINTS ALIVE is going to help us get in touch with our holy brothers and sisters through 30 fantastic stories of dramatic moments of grace. Each story is compelling and speaks to our lives today in the situati...

Aspiring to holiness often seems a never-ending project. One step forward and two steps back, right? So many things seem to interfere, to get in the way, to draw one away from the goal; at least that’s the way it frequently feels to me.Which is one of the many reasons I turn to St. Ignatius, whose feast we celebrate today. Many saints had struggles with conforming their lives to the Gospel, but some of Ignatius’ struggles truly resonate with me. (I love the word resonate: it fee...

I’ve just written a book on hope.I don’t say that expecting you to nod in understanding; I realize hope is a forgotten virtue. Many people equate hope either with optimism or with wishful thinking. I wanted to get back to the theological virtue of hope, which described when our happiness, all of our desires, are directed toward eternity and heaven.But I also didn’t want to write a dissertation about hope; there are a lot of great books that do that already. I wanted t...

We’re living in a time that seems both devoid of hope and, at the same time, filled with it. We asked youth minister Kris Frank, author of Hope Always: Our Anchor in Life’s Storms, available now through Pauline Books & Media, to share some thoughts about hope at this difficult and defining moment. Pauline Books & Media: It feels like we’re at a crossroads of sorts. How can the notion—and virtue—of hope help us in our present moment?Kris Frank: No matter...

My father and I were never close. He worked in the diplomatic service and was away from home—or so it seemed—more than he was with his family. But even when he was physically present, he was not a person who showed or shared emotions easily. We were estranged when he died and there is not a day that goes by—but especially on Father’s Day!—that I don’t feel regret.I know I am not alone. I know that there are fathers separated from their children for a myriad of...

These past 12 days we, as many of you, have been overcome with sorrow at the death of George Floyd. In those eight minutes in which he couldn’t breathe, the ugly horror of racism that exists in our country was exposed for the world to see, for each of us to see. How heavy the burden of fear, pain and suffering our black brothers and sisters have borne and continue to carry!In this country, where we are blessed with so much, we still have not learned that we are all equal in God’s eye...