Author Archives: Guest Contributor
The America We Want: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Now
The Daily Progress ran a photo of a six-year-old girl holding up a sign that declared “Stop deportation now!” in their coverage of an immigration reform rally held here in Charlottesville, Virginia on April 8. Along with these signs calling for an end to deportations, it is not uncommon to scriptural passages used by those […]
The Pope and the Power of Humility
Few events have defined Pope Francis’ young papacy as much as his monumental decision to break from tradition in the Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet. The moving witness of him bending over and cleaning the feet of twelve marginalized poor (non-Italian) young men and women may be remembered as an important moment in […]
Top 10 Ways to Stay Catholic after College
FIND COMMUNITY 1. Stay Connected to your Past: Maintain close relationships with those who have encouraged and supported you up to this point in your faith life (family, HS/college friends, teachers, campus ministers, etc.) 2. Go to Mass every Sunday: Find people to go to Mass with—do not regularly sit alone; form a small community […]
Reclaiming Faith
I’m reading this book right now titled The Art of Growing Older. It’s compelling—so compelling, in fact, that I walk down the street reading poems about aging on my way to work. Admittedly, I use my hands to hide the title as I do so. As a 22-year-old, I figure most people who see me […]
When it’s Hardest to Pray, we Must
Sometimes events happen that are so beyond our scope of understanding that we become frozen. At work, all we can do is stream a live-feed of the events unfolding, ignoring work that should be done. We text and call friends living in the area of the incidents just to feel connected, to feel as though […]
Faith, Reason, and the Secular Perspective
We are all aware of the challenges that being a Catholic can bring. The Church is often presented in a negative light by the media due to huge scandals like the sex abuse crisis and controversy over statements like Benedict’s comments regarding homosexuality last Christmas. But in the past week, the tone of that attention […]
Completa de Fide: The Encyclical on Faith and the Foundation of the 21st Century Church
The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and election of Pope Francis have drawn extensive popular attention and commentary, with all eyes turned toward the Vatican. Nevertheless, amidst the frantic and chaotic days of a papal transition, some important details can slip through the cracks. In November of 2012, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI […]
