Check out these recent articles from around the web:

I Don’t Feel Like Buying Stuff Anymore by Anne Helen Petersen: “The old way wasn’t just unsustainable for millions of Americans. It was also deeply unsatisfying. Consumer sentiment — and behavior — suggests we’re hungry, even desperate, for something different.”

A Telling Spell of Catholic ‘Leadership’ by John Gehring: “At a time when Catholic bishops, public intellectuals, and editors need to speak and act with moral clarity more than ever, the past month has seen such leaders doing the opposite.”

What It Means to Live Without Fear by Josh Noem: “When he was elected pope in the fall of 1978, Pope St. John Paul II came out on the balcony over St. Peter’s square and the first thing he said to the whole world was, “Be not afraid!” It’s a simple phrase, but it meant something real coming from a man who resisted the Nazi regime as a teenager, who watched Communism brutalize his people as an archbishop.”

A Humble Gaze by Griffin Oleynick: “Lange’s life of looking at others, especially those harmed by vast systems of injustice, helped her see that victims were more than just their socioeconomic scars. Now, in a time when many have lost their lives and livelihoods, she helps us reimagine a better America, one characterized by resilience, sacrifice, and hope.”

Will the coronavirus pandemic open the door to a four-day workweek? by Miriam Berger: “Many of the benefits of a four-day workweek overlap, in theory, with the pros of working from home that extend beyond safety during the pandemic, Jansen said.”

COVID quarantine giving people a chance to catch up on their reading by Christopher White: “Everyone seems to be reading more since the COVID-19 pandemic – even Pope Francis. During his interview in March, the pope ticked off references to Virgil’s Aeneid, Alessandro Manzoni’s I promessi sposi, and several titles by Dostoyevsky. Recently, a Twitter craze led to individuals tagging six friends to post pictures of books currently on their desks or nightstands. In that same spirit, we reached out to six Catholics across the country to see what they’re reading for spiritual growth or pure escapism.”

What a Week’s Disasters Tell Us About Climate and the Pandemic by Somini Sengupta: “It all served as a reminder that the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed 325,000 people so far, is colliding with another global menace: a fast-heating planet that acutely threatens millions of people, especially the world’s poor.”

What it means that one of our time’s greatest scientists is a Christian by Michael Gerson: “Collins is an extraordinary man who evinces and exemplifies an impressive humility. A scientific humility that allows for other types of valid human knowledge. A religious humility that yields an honored place to the scientific method. A professional humility that allows him to manage people who sometimes lack that virtue. And a personal humility that leads him to bear the tiresome burdens of needy friends.”

This Memorial Day, will we find meaning in our suffering? by E.J. Dionne: “We not only want to find significance in the lives of the dead but also seek reasons to move forward and find inspiration from their legacies. And when a nation confronts death on a massive scale, we need to know — or at least hope — that we will emerge at the other end better than we were.”