The Word Among Us

January 2006 Issue

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

To mark our twenty-fifth year, we asked readers to tell us how The Word Among Us has helped them on their spiritual journey. Many readers spoke about how this magazine has helped them meet the Lord in prayer, or helped bring them a deeper understanding of Scripture, or given them a renewed and inspired perspective on their lives. We also received a number of letters from readers telling us about how words of encouragement or hope from our magazine helped them in specific situations. Below are two of those letters. Along with all the others we received, both of these stories are testimonies to how the Holy Spirit can speak and work powerfully whenever we turn to him in prayer and immerse ourselves in Scripture. More »

As we celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary, I want to tell a story that has two roots—one global and the other personal. The global story has to do with the winds of renewal that have been blowing in the church since Vatican II. And the personal story has to do with my mother, Edie, without whom I am convinced there would be no magazine. More »

St. Luke tells us that when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost, a rushing wind from heaven filled the whole house where they were staying (Acts 2:2). In the midst of all the excitement, Peter addressed the crowd that had gathered outside in what was the public preaching of Christ. Peter explained to the people what was happening, but he also invited them to receive the Holy Spirit as well. It’s as if Peter knew instinctively that this gift of God was meant for everyone, and he was more than happy to "give it away." More »

Special Feature

At nineteen I received my first string from a dear friend as a birthday present. "Freshwater pearls," he explained. "That’s why they’re not all the same size and shape." More »

Poetry—that is what the Church should be!" announced Brother Roger, founder of an ecumenical community of Roman Catholic and Protestant brothers in the tiny village of Taizé, France. That was in 1985, when he was approaching seventy and I was first researching my book about his life. More »

Now that you have a sense of how we got started and the themes that we believe God has asked us to write about, we want to give you a glimpse into how much God has blessed this magazine over the years. On one level, a timeline such as the one that follows can sound awfully self-congratulating. But our intention in listing these milestones is not to reflect on our own efforts. More »