Laura Kelly Fanucci: Gospels teach us how to live as family in every struggle

Family life is hard. In case no one has reminded you of that lately, let me be the one. Whether you’re in the stage of diapers and bottles, wiping faces and losing sleep, or worrying about the children who have grown – the now-adults making their stumbling way through a suffering world – families will always be holy, hard, humbling schools of love.

Silvio Cuéllar: Go and make disciples of all nations

It was a Sunday in the month of May, and Sergio Jiménez stood in front of a packed church at Blessed Sacrament Church, ready to make a brief invitation at the end of Mass.

Kenneth Craycraft: Authentic freedom is more than doing whatever we want

Writing to the Church at the ancient city of Galatia (now in modern-day Turkey), St. Paul the Apostle declared, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Dr. Antonette Aguilera: Keep each child’s moral compass pointed to true north

One of our Cub Scout students gleefully showed me his brand-new compass. A compass is a fantastic contraption – almost magical. It points north because of something we cannot see:

Earth’s magnetic field. It is a consistent, unfailing mechanism, a quiet gift of creation that helps us navigate this wondrous planet.

Jaymie Stuart Wolfe: Christ makes death a door, not a wall

Christ is risen! Alleluia! We’ll be saying (and singing) that refrain and others like it until Pentecost, which this year isn’t until the end of May.

And well we should! The resurrection of Jesus is the irreplaceable centerpiece of our faith. So much so that St. Paul devoted a substantial portion of his First

Letter to the Corinthians addressing those who thought otherwise.

Greg Erlandson: Popes vs. presidents at wartime

“War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states, the noble exercise of diplomacy: These are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences. … War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations.” — St. John Paul II

Deacon William S. Melton Jr.: Peace be with you – and not just the quiet, worldly kind

As the old saying goes, sometimes we can miss the forest for the trees.

It’s like the old story of a king who lived in a kingdom plagued by thievery. And the thieves weren’t just thieving, they were also smuggling what they stole out of the country. So the king decided to post guards at all the border crossings leading out of the country with orders to search everybody and everything that came through.

Charles Camosy: A theologian reflects on the way forward for Catholic education

What should Catholic education look like today? As universities move toward more efficient and technical processes in higher education, is there still room for seeking truth and knowledge for its own sake? These are some of the questions explored by Timothy P. O’Malley, theology professor and director of education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. OSV News’ Charles Camosy spoke with him recently about the state of Catholic higher education and his vision for its reform.