Publisher's Letter
I have spent the past few weeks thinking and praying about Christian unity, the theme of this month’s issue of The Word Among Us. More »
The Quest for Unity
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
In January 2014, Pope Francis surprised the world with a short, impromptu video that he recorded on a friend’s iPhone. The friend was Tony Palmer, a bishop from a little-known branch of the Anglican Church, and they had been discussing a conference that Bishop Palmer was set to attend. The conference was a gathering of Pentecostal leaders, and Palmer invited the pope to record a greeting to them. More »
It has been nearly one thousand years since the Eastern and Western Churches divided into Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. It has been five hundred years since Martin Luther’s calls for reform resulted in a division between Catholics and Lutherans. Then in rapid succession came the Anglicans, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Moravians, the Methodists, the Pentecostals, and many other Christian groupings. More »
This month we will see many news reports on the five-hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Events will observe the date, the sad history of our divisions will be reviewed and retold, and leaders of different churches will embrace and call for more dialogue. Of course, this is a very good thing. We should never lose sight of the fact that God wants his Church to be united. We should also never lose hope that we will see reconciliation and unity among all Christians. As we said earlier, Jesus himself is praying that we will be one—so it can’t possibly be a hopeless cause! More »
Special Feature
One of the most widely recognized apparitions of Mary is that of Our Lady of Fatima. What is it about this apparition that makes it so special, even one hundred years after it occurred? Why do we keep reflecting on the message Our Lady gave to all of us through three young shepherd children? More »
On the morning of May 13, 1917, while the world was in the midst of World War I, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta led their flock of sheep to a place called Cova da Iria, in Fatima, Portugal. The patch of land was less than a mile away from Aljustrel, the village where they lived. More »
In May, Pope Francis made a special pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal. He didn’t add any other stops to this trip; it was all about Mary and her apparitions to the three shepherd children one hundred years ago. Francis also went as a pilgrim himself to venerate Mary and to pray for peace. During this month in which we celebrate the feast of the Holy Rosary (October 7), let’s join the Holy Father in prayer through and with Our Lady of the Rosary. More »
I scarcely realized it at the time, but it was no coincidence that as I fell in love with my husband, he helped me to fall in love with Christ in the Eucharist. It started when I, a faithful Lutheran, began dating Ryan, a Catholic who loved going to adoration. He had received a piece of advice from a friend who told him, “Just get her to adoration, and the Lord will do the rest.” More »
Recently my youngest daughter peered at the laptop where I was entering family scheduling updates into our calendar. She commented on all the different colors for the month. “You have a color too,” I said. “It’s your calendar. It’s how we keep track of what is going on with you.” She seemed impressed. More »