Summer has arrived, with its promise of recreation and rest. This is a special time to give thanks to God for all the gifts that are given, and to plan the next months as special occasions of grace.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope. It has been exciting following our very own American-born Pope through his first year – although what has most edified me is that Leo XIV has not allowed himself to be pigeonholed as an “American Pope.” He is a missionary who belongs first to the Lord and, for his sake, to the entire world.

I was struck by the pressures and anxieties experienced by young people today, and by the number of times the speakers tried to convince them to believe in God’s personal, unconditional love. I started to wonder why this message was being repeated with such insistence. It seemed a little cheesy. Doesn’t God’s love go without saying?

The senseless violence, school shootings, acts of terror; the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk while speaking to university students; leave us with feelings of sadness, anger, and futility as to what is happening to our society. The killing of the young, our best and our brightest, in places of supposed safety, health and learning is leaving its dark imprint on those who survive. We pray for those who have been killed, for their families and communities.

The Benedictine College Youth Conference Encounter (BCYC Encounter) is an event for teenagers to come together for prayer, activities,...

This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region...

The new year is underway, and our world prepares for what comes next. We are reading, maybe at home, away from home, busy, concerned,...