There was a time, admits Maria Taylor, when she would have been afraid to stand at a microphone and sing in front of a crowd. Thanks to her own deep faith, her supportive family and the encouragement of parishioners and staff at St. John Fisher Church in Newtown, Taylor now …

In searching for those carrying out the mission of Jesus, look no further than Stephen T. Badin High School in Hamilton. There, you’ll find seniors Liam Connaughton, JJ Even and Grace Warner. All three credit their Catholic faith for helping guide their mission of sharing Christ’s love and service with …

For retiring superintendent Susie Gibbons, Catholic education has been with her nearly every step of her life. From attending Catholic grade school, high school and college, to teaching, administering, then leading the charge for the fourth largest Catholic school system in the U.S., Gibbons has done it all. Her vocational …

This is my last Shine On column for The Catholic Telegraph. I was running through my neighborhood over lunchtime during the COVID lockdown three years ago and praying about this column. I asked God what message He wanted to share with the world. There are more gifted writers and certainly …

Do you remember what it was like to be a teenager? I ask myself this question at least once a week. My oldest is only one year from entering her teens, and already I find myself trying, and often failing, to remember my own experiences at that age—maybe, it’s because …

In English, the word “suffer” has at least two different but related meanings, both of which are important for contemplating how suffering affects our spiritual and moral development. In the first, suffering imposes itself upon us, against our will or consent. In the second sense, we consent to suffering as …

Whenever I think of Mary’s joy, I’m instantly reminded of the Joyful Mysteries: the Annunciation, Visitation, Birth of Jesus, Presentation in the Temple and Finding Jesus in the Temple. As I meditated on these events, however, I noticed a pattern: her joyful moments were also surrounded by suffering. This is, …

But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them (Lk. 24:29). The two disciples’ request for Jesus to remain with them when they arrived at Emmaus was the theme of …

It was 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning and our son, Carson, was starting to wake up. As a 15-year-old teenage boy, he slept late every now and then, but that Saturday morning was different. Carson had been dealing with a severe eye abrasion, like a paper cut, from three …

People who struggle with depression and anxiety walk around casually carrying emotional wounds that if they were physical would probably require emergency surgery! Yet, they often act as if they are not injured. Somehow this feels easier than acknowledging the reality of the wound. Perhaps because deep down there is …