For the month of June, Pope Francis has made his prayer intention for young people “who are preparing for marriage with the support of a Christian community” that they may “grow in love, with generosity, faithfulness and patience.” In the spirit of
Gretchen Crowe compares our current state with the division among vaccinated and unvaccinated Catholics to a classic story by Dr. Seuss. She writes: “Maybe you remember the Sneetches? Yellow bird-duck things with short legs, long necks and greatly pronounced rotundity? These figments
Gretchen R. Crowe writes that the new titles added to the Litany of St. Joseph encourage us to take the outstretched hand of Christ and go deeper in relationship with him. She writes: “The titles, like sacred art, offer us new opportunities
Gretchen R. Crowe shares that while the Church has the resources and teachings to explain its stance on topics regarding the dignity of life, such as specific medical interventions such as in vitro fertilization, the sensitive topic of infertility makes these teachings
In her latest column, Gretchen Crowe reviews Marion Amberg’s brand new (and gorgeous) book, “Monuments, Marvels, and Miracles: A Traveler’s Guide to Catholic America” from OSV. She writes: “Broken up into seven geographic areas, the book highlights more than 500 Catholic sites
Since Christmastime, Gretchen Crowe has been singing “Silent Night” as a bedtime lullaby to her daughter. She writes: “The problem with a Christmas carol becoming the nightly favorite was that when the season transitioned, the lullaby did not. We gave her a
During his historic trip to Iraq, Pope Francis kept a packed itinerary. He met with authorities, civil society leaders and members of the diplomatic corps, and participated in an interreligious gathering on the plain of Ur. Additionally, Pope Francis spent a day
When Jason Shanks entered his Fort Wayne, Indiana, home in mid-February, it was the first time he’d been there since an ambulance had taken him away three months earlier. In early November, when cases of COVID-19 were rising nationwide, one of Jason’s
With so much going on, writes Gretchen Crowe, it is almost necessary to stop and take stock of where we are to determine where we should be going. That’s what a panel of influential Catholics did as part of a recent webcast,
Gretchen Crowe shares her family’s love for maps and how that relates to the Lenten season. She writes: “I started to reflect on the reasons for my own interest in cartography. I like the big picture and the context. I like knowing