111. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” [1 Cor 13:7]. Here we see clearly the countercultural power of a love that is able to face whatever might threaten it. More »

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who died on September 5, 1997, was one of the greatest spiritual “overachievers” of our time. She accomplished so much, that we might think she rarely took a break from tending to the human misery that surrounded her. More »

“Men walking on level ground do not have to lend one another a hand, while those who are on a rugged, slippery road hold on to one anther in order to walk more safely.” —St. Francis de Sales, An Introduction to the Devout Life, 3.19 More »

It was an adolescent prank—pears stolen from a neighbor’s tree. But as Augustine looked back on the incident many years later, it seemed reprehensible to him. He had no need of the pears; they were thrown to the pigs. It was the thrill of committing theft with his friends that he had sought. “My feasting was only on the wickedness which I took pleasure in enjoying” (Confessions, Book II, 12). More »

The person who thirsts for God eagerly studies and meditates on the inspired word, knowing that there he is certain to find the one for whom he thirsts (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon 23:3). More »

The virtue of charity has incredible power to open people to God, to bring light out of darkness and hope from despair. But it can cost everything! Still, it will give more than you can imagine. More »

A mother gazes into her baby’s eyes, and he responds with a smile and cooing sounds of happiness. A man asks a woman to marry him, and she throws her arms around him, kisses him, and says “yes,” her eyes filling with tears. More »

Through her assumption into heaven, Mary enjoys now what all disciples hope for—the resurrection of the body, life eternal in the presence of God. More »