5+ mon, 4+ day ago (94+ words) I replied, they say, cool as milk It's an old family story, how at fiveI asked, and they turnedthe question back on me. Well,where do you think you came from?I replied, they say, as cool as milk,From earth and from God.I find it hard to believe now. But then, I wasstill close enough to bothto know, I guess. Deirdre Lockwood's first book of poetry, An Introduction to Error, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press in September. Her work has appeared in Threepenny Review, Yale Review, Poetry Northwest and elsewhere....

1+ mon, 3+ week ago (129+ words) A Reflection for Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time "When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." (Luke 11:15) I admit, I am suspicious of arguments for Christianity based solely on Jesus" miracles. My Catholic upbringing taught me to be critical in a good way; to ask deeper questions and give my experience the benefit of the doubt. I"ve never witnessed miracles the way the Gospels tell us Jesus performed them. So, it"s hard for me to read a passage like this one from Luke and feel particularly awestruck or inspired by Jesus" divine power. Sebastian Gomes is America's executive editor of audio and video....

4+ mon, 1+ week ago (324+ words) The staff of America, the Society of Jesus and the city of New York all lost a good friend and a role model this week with the death of Frank W. Turnbull, S.J., on July 15, 2025. Frank, who served for 26 years all told at America as part of a lifetime of service as a Jesuit brother, is remembered as a humble, quiet and yet forceful presence to those who knew him during his 85 years of life. Brother Frank was born in 1939 in Brooklyn. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in 1957 (a few years before Martin Scorsese, a few years after Don DeLillo) and entered what was then the New York Province of the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew-on-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1961. He took vows as a Jesuit brother in 1963. In 1995, he became the executive assistant for the Jesuit…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago (146+ words) A Reflection for the Transfiguration of the Lord You will do well to be attentive to it,as to a lamp shining in a dark place,until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19) As I work today with sponsees and fellow addicts, I find that the memory of that day has transformed me. In everything I do, I try to embody that same good humor and fearless compassion. Sometimes people find it helpful. In any case, it is all I have, that fleeting instant in which I caught sight of God's glory, heard the divine voice and beheld the morning star rising in my heart. Michael R. Simone, S.J., is contributing editor at America and pastor of Ges" Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Support a trusted Catholic voice at the intersection of the Church and the world....

1+ mon, 3+ week ago (128+ words) America Media interprets the church for the world and the world for the church. We are a forum for discussion of religion, society, politics and culture from a Catholic perspective. The Ignatian traditions of "finding God in all things" and the promotion of justice shape our commentary. Founded in 1909 by the Jesuit order and directed today by Jesuits and lay colleagues, America Media is a resource for social analysis and spiritual renewal, guided by the spirit of charity. Luke Olsen, S.J., is a Jesuit scholastic studying economics and international development at Fordham University. In rural Zambia, subsistence farmers face complex questions with no easy answers and very little time. Drought fueled by climate change threatens smallholder farmers and the communities that depend on them for food....

4+ mon, 5+ day ago (201+ words) A Reflection for Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time I have fond memories from when I was a young girl enthusiastically asking my father to lay on my bed and tell me stories to help me fall asleep. I still remember many of those stories today, and they often had meaningful life lessons woven into them (although I am not sure I fully appreciated those lessons back then). Today, my children love to hear stories from me and other relatives. The power of stories fosters connections, preserves cultures and has captivated humans since the beginning of time. To me, that is one of the reasons why today's Gospel is so powerful'Jesus teaches all of us using two short yet impactful stories. Today, can each of us look at the stories of our lives and identify mustard seeds that…...

5+ mon, 1+ week ago (322+ words) During his ministry, the priest became known for "Campion's Brag," a defense of his intentions as spiritual and religious, not political. Among its famous lines: The original is in Latin. I am to blame for any errors in translation, as it has been many years since I knew where my Wheelock was: Old-timers might recognize the name of the Jesuit who signed the certificate: Paul Molinari, S.J., was the postulator general for the Society of Jesus for over 50 years. He also worked at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints with his fellow Jesuit Kurt Peter Gumpel, S.J., on hundreds of different causes for sainthood over the decades. Both men would have been involved in the cause for sainthood of, yes, Edmund Campion. Note that in the document referenced above, he is "Blessed Campion," not "Saint Campion": He would not be named…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (144+ words) America Media interprets the church for the world and the world for the church. We are a forum for discussion of religion, society, politics and culture from a Catholic perspective. The Ignatian traditions of "finding God in all things" and the promotion of justice shape our commentary. Founded in 1909 by the Jesuit order and directed today by Jesuits and lay colleagues, America Media is a resource for social analysis and spiritual renewal, guided by the spirit of charity. Dylan Perry, F.S.C., is the principal at De La Salle Blackfeet School on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Mont. He is originally from Memphis, Tenn., and holds a master's in public service from the University of Arkansas' Clinton School. Synodality isn't going anywhere under Pope Leo. What are some ways we can avoid "synod fatigue" and become better at the process?...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago (189+ words) J.D. Long Garc'a is a senior editor at America." Kerry Weber: "The Lilly grant is going to give us the opportunity to tell our stories in a more in-depth way and tell new stories that we may not have had the resources to tell otherwise." And how the church can accompany couples struggling with infertility "For us, as Hispanics who are suffering in the United States, it gives us great hope to believe that this next pope will be like Francis and stand with immigrants." For these next days of waiting, first and foremost for the cardinals in conclave and then also for all of us: Come, Holy Spirit, bringing wisdom, discernment and patience. The chair of Peter may be empty, but the Vatican is still full. Few, if any, Latin Americans show up on the speculative lists of who might…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago (340+ words) At a Mass for the Jubilee of Youth outside Rome, Pope Leo exhorted over a million young people to be "seeds of hope" and a "sign that a different world is possible." Pope Leo XIV named the French archbishop Thibault Verny as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Se'n O'Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston. Pope Leo XIV denounced the "violent conflict [that] seems to be raging in the Christian East with a diabolical intensity previously unknown" and said the Christians of the West must do more to help the Christians of the East, especially those suffering in Ukraine, Gaza and other places in the Middle East. Aware of the deep concern this new act of violence has caused among Christians in this part of the world, Pope Leo offered these…...