I never saw myself as a speaker for the missions. To me, mission speakers were always nuns or priests who spoke eloquently about their cause, effortlessly encouraging parishioners to make generous donations. More »

For about twenty years, I’ve been serving as a Catholic lay volunteer to bring prayer, the Eucharist, and sacramentals inside the walls of Florida’s prison. The prisons I serve are in rural North Florida, just a few miles from the Georgia border. More »

To All Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ: More »

The year was 1994. I was five years old and on the “little league” soccer team of Holy Rosary Catholic School in Memphis, Tennessee. I was eager to play, but after only a few moments on the field, my legs would begin to twinge in pain and feel too heavy to run. More »

My stomach sank and my face went numb as I opened the gift addressed to me. It contained the small Christmas stocking I had hand-stitched for my stepmother two years before. More »

Imagine that you are a budding concert pianist facing your debut performance. You’re terrified. “What if I foul up?” you keep asking yourself. More »

Italy in the mid-1880s was not the best place for farming families. Many farms were failing, and in the face of mounting poverty, parents sent their sons into the cities to work in the rapidly expanding factories. Sadly, however, with no child labor laws, these boys were often subjected to very harsh conditions. More »

Not long after his election as pope in 1959, Blessed John XXIII surprised the whole world when he announced his intention to convene the Second Vatican Council. Nobody expected this affable son of peasant farmers to take such a bold move. More »