I still remember the moment I first heard the prayer of St Elizabeth of the Trinity. In the quiet of our convent chapel on Staten Island, New York, Father Bruno Forte—Italian theologian and now Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto—led our community in a profound meditation on silence and prayer. We each had a small copy of the famous prayer of Elizabeth of the Trinity. Bruno Forte opened up the treasures of each phrase one by one, leading us deeper and deeper into interior recollection. It was...

A lot of us are feeling small these days. Insignificant, inconsequential in the face of the pandemic and overwhelming economic distress. And then comes Lent, and this year it somehow feels both irrelevant and trivial to consider doing without chocolate for 40 days.Fasting is one of the three cornerstones of the season, but we’re all exhausted by a year of giving up so much. Yet it’s possible that we’re partially at fault for that exhaustion, because even as we lost incomes, fel...

We all want to live out our faith, knowing—with St. Francis—that we may be the only Gospel our neighbor ever reads. But it’s easy to be not exactly blinded, but rather oblivious, to ways that could make our lives real, vibrant, to allow us to walk with Jesus through the challenges of the 21st century, and particularly in terms of racial justice.Lorna DesRoses, the Coordinator of Black Catholic Ministries at the Archdiocese of Boston, has had this on her mind for some time. &ldq...

Now that several Covid-19 vaccines are in production, you may be asking yourself the question, “Should I get vaccinated?” Some Catholics are wrestling with this question because these first couple of vaccines have some connection with abortion. Here's a moral framework to help you think this through.... The first vaccines that have been approved for the Covid-19 virus raise moral issues because they have a connection with morally compromised cell lines. Kidney cells from a b...

A new year is always a time for hope, and no new year has been looked to with such anticipation than this one! So we caught up with two of Pauline Books & Media’s favorite authors to see what their “hopes” are for 2021.Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is a Daughter of St. Paul and the author of Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Emmanuel College, Boston, Massachusetts and a Masters in Theological Studies from Weston ...

On Tuesdays during Advent we’ve been sharing the story of the Little Drummer Boy, through both the film version and the carol that inspired it. And now as we celebrate the Christmas season, it’s a good time to think about what it means for us going forward into a new year… and the rest of our lives.In the film version of the story, the boy’s heart, his fears and bitter memories, his hatred and loneliness melted as he looked upon the newborn King. And us? We’ve amas...

Couldn’t we all use a little good news right now? That’s why we’re so excited about our newest Bible for children ages 8-11, The Four Gospels for Young Catholics. The word gospel means good news, and the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John contain the best news of all: God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to save us. With this book, children can journey alongside Mary and the apostles as they get to know Jesus in the stories of his birth, life, death and resurrection. &nb...

We have started to do book studies via Zoom, and these book studies are blessing folks left and right! I am excited to announce that we will be starting a new book study on SAINTS ALIVE: THE GOSPEL WITNESSED. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses and we are so oblivious sometimes! SAINTS ALIVE is going to help us get in touch with our holy brothers and sisters through 30 fantastic stories of dramatic moments of grace. Each story is compelling and speaks to our lives today in the situati...

The following is excerpted from our new book 16 Black Saints and Advocates for Social Justice by Marie Paul Curley, FSP, Mary Lea Hill, FSP, Allison Gliot, FSP, Marianne Lorraine Trouvé, FSP, and edited by Mary Leonora Wilson, FSP.In proposing saints as our models of life, the Church wants to encourage us to follow their example of virtue in order to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself is our primary model, the Way, the Truth, and the Life for all of us. But in the saints ...

by Sr Mary Lea Hill, FSP, Author Complaints of the SaintsWell, I did have a book on this topic in mind for quite a while. Complaining is such a natural topic for me to cover. I feel I was born to comment on the obviously off-kilter that is all around in everyday life. ⁠⁠I have always maintained that complaints are really necessary social commentary. And I’m a master at this, long practiced. As for it being my memoirs, I guess it is in a kind of unraveled way. If you read through all my b...