by Fr. Jim Chern
In the past few years, and especially in these last weeks, we’ve watched a troubling trend accelerate in our public life: the rise of “prayer shaming.” It feels like every time tragedy strikes, especially when…
One of the funny things about my life as a Catholic priest is that, even though I don’t have kids of my own, God’s made sure I’m never short on young people to look after.…
I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard theatre fan, but there’s something about the musical Sunset Boulevard that’s stuck with me for thirty years. I first came across it decades ago—after my mom and I saw…
I’ll admit it: I’m not much for calculating the odds, but it’s pretty rare for June 29th—the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul—to land on a Sunday. Maybe once every six years or so, depending…
If you knew you had just one week to live, what would you do? Most of us have faced that question at some point—maybe in a group icebreaker, a job interview, or on a college…
I stumbled across a website recently—whyimcatholic.com. The name says it all. It’s a place where people from every background post their stories, sharing what led them to the Catholic faith. Fair warning: if you check…
One of the things that is most striking reading Marcellino D’Ambrosio’s book, Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life, is the honesty he brings in sharing his story. He starts with this frank confession:…
A few months back, a friend of mine was asked to review a re-issued novel—The Edge of Sadness, a Pulitzer Prize winner I’d never heard of. The title itself had me curious, but when I…
What is peace, really? For a long time, I thought I had the answer. I used to think peace was just quiet—a lack of trouble. If things were calm, if no one was fighting or…
What happens after we die? It’s the kind of question most of us tuck away, hoping we won’t have to face it until absolutely necessary—until life, or a random headline, brings it out of hiding. That…