Weakness is not a nice feeling. With echoes of other David and Goliath moments and campaigns, I was aware of my growling weakness, empty stomach, and growing frustration as passionate talks were going on and on in Foley Square outside the City Council chambers on Aug. 31. 

I recently had the opportunity to attend two distinct events that celebrated the gift of the priesthood: one in life and the other in death. 

I’d like to say a word for the angels. Especially the ones whom I lovingly call the “blue-collar workers” of the heavenly host. 

The good news today is that Catholics are still reading, listening, and watching Catholic materials. The better news is that the numbers who are reading, listening, and watching have been going up.

Every year at the end of August and the beginning of September there is a national gathering of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD). This meeting brings together all of the vocation directors of the United States as we look ahead to a pastoral year of prayer, hope, and excitement. 

For Americans across the country, the annual Labor Day holiday signals the changing of the seasons, one last chance to take in good weather around a cookout or at the beach. 

As Christians, we all know how central light is to the story of our faith. The creation story opens with “Let there be light.” And Matthew introduces Jesus with a quote from the prophet Isaiah: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light” (4:16). When we look up at the stars or face the glorious rising sun, it is this sacred story that we are wrapped in.

On Saturday, July 15, I traveled to St. Fidelis Parish in College Point to attend a Mass of Resurrection for a man named Albie. I never met Albie in person, but I knew about him from my Dominican sister friend, Sister Ruth Lautt, OP. Sister Ruth coordinates the St. Fidelis Street Ministry that offers every first Saturday of the month to bring food and clothing to people in need.

This past month, I have read with interest many accounts of World Youth Day and the experiences shared by my younger sisters and brothers in Christ as hundreds of thousands of them experienced their pilgrimage to Portugal.

Thousands of young people from around the world have anticipated the first days of August. We are all descending on the city of Lisbon for World Youth Day. Started by Pope St. John Paul II in 1984, World Youth Day is the celebration of the Church’s commitment to its youth and provides time and space for encounters with Christ.