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September 2013 How many of your relationships have gone stagnant only to later be unexpectedly revived? Consider high school friends. You haven’t seen them in years when out of the blue something reminds you of them. All sorts of questions arise regarding their well-being and whereabouts, and you feel the...
A photograph of my mother’s brother, Lawrence Lynch, had a special place on the family piano in our home. Dressed in a captain’s uniform, he’s seated at a metal desk. He’s smiling warmly. Uncle Lawrence was a Redemptorist priest who served as an army chaplain with the Fighting 69th Irish...
September 2013 "Most of us have never lived in or experienced a “missionary” Church." Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis have something in common other than the papacy: a focus on the new evangelization. Paul VI popularized the term in his 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. John Paul II explained...
September 2013 "Conversion doesn’t happen according to a schedule." Occasions like New Year’s, Ash Wednesday, and birthdays seem custom-made for adopting new life goals. It’s neat and tidy to say, “As of January 1, I will no longer lose my temper with my children.” “Beginning Ash Wednesday, I will stop...
September 2013 On behalf of all of us at William H. Sadlier, Inc., our sincere congratulations on the hundredth anniversary of Liguorian. It’s a wonderful milestone to have achieved. To think of the hundreds of thousands of readers who have been uplifted, consoled, and/or strengthened in their faith is truly...
September 2013 Welcome to our September issue, in which we celebrate the joy of renewal. As discussed by columnist Kate Basi in “Just Live It,” the act of becoming new is constant. This month, for example, students are back in school, breathing in the scent of crayons, old books, or...
A little boy asked his grandpa how old he was. Grandpa teasingly replied, “I’m not sure.” To which the little boy advised, “Look in your underwear, Grandpa. Mine says I’m 4 to 6!” A teacher asked her students to write a sentence about a public servant. One boy wrote, “The...
Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God Daniel Burke with Fr. John Bartunek, LC, STL Emmaus Road $13.95 This book gives ordinary people a powerful framework for participating in spiritual direction whether they are beginners, veterans of spiritual direction, or strugglers outside the process. Noting that all...
July-August 2013 The apostles presented the Gospel truth in different languages through various channels. My nieces and nephews are great kids—intelligent and kind—and I’m proud to be their uncle. Still, I regret their lack of participation in the life of the Church. From what other parishioners tell me, this is...
Christians who envision life to be like a voyage on the open sea seek the guiding light of Mary. In his classic sermon on Mary, St. Bernard of Clairvaux encourages us to take solace in Our Lady, “star of the sea” (Stella Maris), as we navigate the volatile sea that...
July-August 2013 Michael couldn’t wait to tell his second-grade friend what had happened to him. “A policeman pointed a gun at my head this morning!” Michael’s friend was scared, so he told the teacher, who told the principal, who called Michael’s parents. His parents explained that their home had been...
July-August 2013 One ordinary afternoon, I pulled up to a stoplight—an ordinary mom driving an ordinary minivan with three small children chattering unintelligibly in the back. Beside our minivan stood a man in a camouflage jacket holding a cardboard sign that read, HOMELESS—HUNGRY—ANYTHING HELPS. At moments like these, the wisdom...
Editor’s Note: In recognition of World Youth Day 2013 (July 23–28 in Rio de Janeiro), we share this reader’s inspiring story about WYD 2002. As the director of religious education at St. Patrick’s Parish, I took about fifty teens to World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. We experienced many funny...
July-August 2013 Therapists working with patients unable to make a decision because they’re paralyzed by fear or anger often use a technique called reframing to give them a different perspective. Similar to putting a new frame around a familiar picture, therapeutic reframing enables situational details that were once hidden to...
January 2012
Five-year-old Amy anxiously asked, “Is my mother here?”
“Amy, how nice to see you!” exclaimed Mrs. Murphy. “Won’t you come in and visit for a while?”
Amy’s big brown eyes darted past Mrs. Murphy and peered into her parlor, hoping to see another person there. Disappointed, she answered, “No, thank you, Mrs. Murphy. I’m just looking for my mother. I know she sometimes stops here on her way home from shopping.”
What do I say to this child? Mrs. Murphy asked herself, turning a little pale. Then, regaining her composure, she said, “Amy, please come in for a minute. I just happen to have some gingerbread cookies! How about having some milk and cookies with me?” tempted Mrs. Murphy as she remembered the last time she had seen Amy.
Liguorian showed a strong presence at the 2013 Catholic Press Association Media Conference. With more than 200 publications present, Liguorian was proud to be recognized in six different categories. Included is a list of honors—category, place, title, issue, and author. All quoted material is attributed to the judging panel.
The Yes that Changed the World It always amazes me that the Holy Spirit seeks to “renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30) by coming to the simple and lowly, to the little, to the frightened, to the least. After these encounters their lives begin to flower, with nothing...
May-June 2013 I celebrated my first Communion in 1967. Of the many religious gifts I received, my absolute favorite was a statue of Mary. She wore a beautiful pastel dress and had flowing blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. Even more exciting, she played “Immaculate Mary.” The statue received a place...
May-June 2013 "We never know when a choice that’s unimportant to us may be the catalyst for someone else’s really big choice." I sat down to write this column thirty-six hours after the horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Months later, this tragic episode has taken its place among myriad...
May-June 2013 A faded sign in the window of a small storefront church near my home declares, “We offer a hand-up, not a hand-out!” A Salvation Army social-service center offers food vouchers; a stone’s throw away, the Catholic Worker offers a free clinic. Churches and church organizations have been in the...