Columns

Lent as a time for embraces

By Sister Constance Veit

Over time, certain passages of Scripture reach beyond the realm of the sacred to find a place in our culture’s lexicon of colloquial expressions. “To every thing there is a... More

Catholic groups step up to care for struggling elders

HAVANA — When New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and a group from the Archdiocese of New York visited Cuba in February, they spent quite a bit of their mission trip doing what a lot of...

Lenten promises to keep

You may or may not give more in Lent, the way the Church asks you to. Many of us could be more generous than we are. I certainly could be. Whatever you do in Lent, you know you should give to the...

Almsgiving: An overshadowed Lenten pillar

WASHINGTON — When it comes to the three pillars of Lent, almsgiving is a little bit like the middle child, not always getting the attention that prayer and fasting do. The word hardly...

Temptations challenge and reveal our faithfulness

There are 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. All around the world, people celebrate Lent as a time to reflect, refocus and prepare. In 2019, Twitter...

Freedom to fail in the eyes of the world

By the world’s standards, the cross was the antithesis of success, and yet on that tree hung “the Savior of all people” (1 Timothy 4:10). Scourged, crowned with thorns and...

How the saints support your Lent

We could explain saints by calling them the people we want to be. Or know we should want to be, even if we’re not feeling it. I love St. Pio, but I’m not keen on working as hard as he...

When children are at risk of sextortion

As technology rapidly changes and children have increased access to the internet from younger ages, there are extensive avenues for their victimization. In particular, there are a growing number...

The word of God and Lent

On Jan. 26, the universal church celebrated the Sunday of the Word of God for the first time. This celebration was instituted by Pope Francis last September through a special document titled...

Women religious: Living one mission

Congregations of women religious are making a difference every day in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Permit me to offer a snapshot view as to why we celebrate them during this National Catholic...

Marking Black History Month

During my time at Aquinas High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I was privileged to have a young Sister Thea Bowman as a teacher during my sophomore year. I have written previously about...

Weaving our shared stories together

Driving home from Downtown Pittsburgh, I like to listen to recorded books I get from the public library. The one I’m listening to now is about public speaking. Specifically, it’s about...

Racial justice hasn't gone out of season

WASHINGTON — Catholic groups and organizations are striving to not only acknowledge the sins of the past but also do something to atone for them. Network, a Catholic social justice...

Vatican opens doors to leaders ready for economic reform

VATICAN CITY — The same day Pope Francis dedicated his general audience talk to explaining “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” high-level finance ministers and economic experts...

Salt and light

In the Sermon of the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16), Jesus clearly speaks to his disciples — personally, emphatically and practically — “YOU are the salt of the earth … and YOU...

The Lenten creed

We tend to say it as if we’re racing to say the alphabet as fast as we can. We smear the words together and don’t even think about what we’re saying. At least I do, when...

Moral arguments propel nuclear treaty efforts

WASHINGTON — The Cold War may have ended in 1991, but nuclear disarmament advocates in the Catholic Church and beyond say nuclear weapons still pose a grave danger to humanity. For...

Moving from pain of loneliness to joy of solitude

On one of her trips to the United States, St. Teresa of Kolkata lamented that the disease of the West is loneliness. In her book, “Essential Writings” (Orbis Books, 2005), she...

St. Francis de Sales' rules for Twitter

Doctors don’t seem to do this anymore, but when St. Francis de Sales was alive, they would judge a man’s health by the state of his tongue. So, he said, “our words are a true...

Remembering Holocaust is 'a duty,' pope says

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said remembering the millions of men, women and children who perished in the Holocaust is a call for the world today to reflect and commit to not repeating the...

Elders shape the future

During February my thoughts turn to two of my favorite biblical figures, Simeon and Anna. Simeon is described in St. Luke’s Gospel simply as “a man in Jerusalem” and Anna...

Enduring tragedy and grief

This may be a little morbid, but I can’t stop thinking about the woman in New York City who was killed by falling debris from a 17-story, 100-year-old building. Erica Tishman, 60, an...

The Light of Christmas

Several times in sacred Scripture, we encounter the phrase “In the beginning …” We find it in the beginning of the Book of Genesis, in the Gospel of John, and we hear it again in...

Deacon answers call to serve medical mission

Charity and service work are at the heart of what we deacons were ordained to do in Jesus’ name. I never felt more humbled or more like a servant than I did in my seven days in October on a...

Uncommonly faithful: Good news in challenging times

What do novelist Toni Morrison, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, basketball coach John Thompson, gymnast Simone Biles and Pittsburgh’s acclaimed jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams all have...

Psychology of human trafficking: Life-altering effects on children

Human trafficking has received much attention over the past several years. A phenomenon that has been around for decades, if not centuries, trafficking just recently garnered an official name and...