“Padre, Don’t Forget”
My good friend, a retired priest from the Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario, took a group of kids to the Dominican Republic more than 30 years ago. One day he went out to the outlying regions in Consuelo, called the Bateyes,...
Tagged: hope
The Silence of God
One of the most pressing questions people have, young students especially, has to do with the problem of evil. Why do bad things happen to good people? And, if God exists, how can he allow so much suffering and evil...
Imagining A Better World This Year
This reflection was first posted by The Southern Cross – The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa on December 29, 2025. The world is a wonderful place. Our God is so good in giving it to us, but to a large...
Cardinal McElroy takes the helm of the Archdiocese of Washington
Cardinal Robert McElroy was installed as the eighth Archbishop of Washington yesterday, March 11, 2025, during a solemn Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. As a nearly lifelong Catholic of the archdiocese, I am...
The Pope in the Hospital: A Lesson in Hope
The key words here are “patience” and “hope”— Christian virtues, no doubt.
Third Space Podcast: Esther Harber – Closest to the Heart of Jesus
This week I spoke with Esther Harber. Esther is the Survivor Care Coordinator for Awake and a survivors of sexual assault by a Catholic priest. In this discussion she shares her own story and how her experiences of harm have...
Pope Francis Shares a Message for Christian Communicators
On Friday, Pope Francis shared a message for Christian communicators to mark the Memorial of Saint Frances de Sales and the 59th World Day of Social Communications. His message was one of both encouragement and conviction for those who attempt...
Pope Francis’s “Hope”: An engaging mess
When I checked the news headlines on X Tuesday morning, I noticed several posts referring to Hope: The Autobiography, the book by Pope Francis that was announced to the world back in October — hyped up as an autobiography that...
Reflections on Pope Francis’ 2025 World Day of Peace message
In these early days of the new year, many of us are probably feeling a mixture of anxiety and hope – anxious about the many crises in our nation and world, yet hopeful that 2025 will be better. In his...
Third Space Podcast: Monica Pope – Crisis of Hope
In this first episode of 2025, I talked with my good friend and mentor, Monica Pope, about hope. We began by talking about the role of the catechist before launching into a catechesis about hope in light of the theme...
Reminding Me Where I’ve Come From
Story-telling is a thing right now, but it wasn’t when I sent a one-minute pitch to The Moth in 2013. I had been listening to the Moth on public radio stations for years: “True stories, told live, no notes.” And...
Third Space Podcast: Angela Sealana – The Abundant Life
In this episode of Third Space, Angela Sealana and I have a conversation about what it means to live abundantly as a Catholic today. More specifically, we talk about what hope looks like when it’s not misused to bypass lament,...
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