A Homily for Laetare Sunday Many years ago, people would often ask me whether I thought this person or that person in the seminary was going to make a good priest and I would readily offer my opinion. I’ve since refused to answer such questions only because I’ve been wrong far too often....
We are past the halfway mark of Lent. The ashes from Ash Wednesday have long faded, yet their memory lingers — a quiet reminder of the promises we made to pray more faithfully, fast more intentionally, and love more deeply. By this point, the journey can feel less like steady progress and more...
The first Reading and the Gospel, which we have heard, in dialogue with each other, help us to rediscover the gift of Baptism as a grace that comes towards our freedom. The account of Genesis recalls our condition as creatures, put to the test not so much by a prohibition, as is often...
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity. It was originally published by Indian Catholic Matters on February 25, 2026.) In a world increasingly shaped by religious diversity and global interconnection, few church leaders embody the lived experience of dialogue as fully as His Eminence Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the...
Earlier this week, I wrote about the call to be a Catholic writer. In this article, I would like to explore the responsibilities of a Catholic writer, based on my own experience of writing over the past few years. The Catholic faith-based genre is not an easy one to write. Many times, I...
Through the Scriptures, Tradition, liturgies, and devotions, people can encounter the living Christ and experience his love, healing, and freedom. But what happens when the women and men in the Church who are tasked with teaching doctrine, preaching God’s word, or presiding over the sacraments, do so with carelessness or coercion? What harm...
On May 2nd, 2025, Robert Ferguson, Governor of the State of Washington, signed into law Bill 5375 making it mandatory for Catholic priests and other religious leaders to report “if they have reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse.” This obligation included information received when they were “performing official duties...
I was wondering what to do. You are no good at this. Your writing quality is like a Whatsapp or Facebook post. The words ring in me and make me despondent. “Lord, take this away from me – this need to spill words out in writing about You, if this is Your will,”...
The Church is not a democracy. Seriously, how often have we heard this phrase? Does it not hold an honored place among ecclesial truisms, like “the Church thinks in centuries,” or “Catholics don’t sing”? Surely, in a literal sense, we know the Church is not a democracy. When was the last time we...
Note: This reflection on single life was previously published by the Union of Catholic Asian News on March 25, 2025. If you are Catholic, you might recognize that the three Church designated vocational callings are religious life, marriage, and singlehood. However, within the Catholic community, the single life has frequently failed to be...
A Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Lent In the Gospel reading this week, the fact that Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan woman is quite radical, for Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. Pious Jews were known to take long detours rather than walk through Samaria. It was unheard of for a...
In this episode, I had a wonderful conversation with Anne Carpenter about Hans Urs von Balthasar, power, and vulnerability. Back in January, Anne had an essay in Commonweal titled, Raising the Bastions: Why the American Catholic right turned against Balthasar. In it, she was able to name the root sickness that I’ve seen and experienced...
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