If you are a letter writer, a highlight of Advent is the opportunity to put pen to paper and greet friends and loved ones with Christmas cards reminding them that they are close to your heart in the great celebrations to come. For me, a good cup of coffee, Christmas music in the background, and a stack of Christmas cards and felt-tipped pens is a cherished ritual of Advent. 

Until I was 15 years old, I never had to think about whether the building I was in had an elevator or escalator. Stairs worked just as well for me. 

This Thanksgiving, be thankful in all ways. With the loss of our daughter, the Syliah Volmar Foundation has given our family comfort as we watch the lives of children change because of the education provided for them.

Dynamic Catholic is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to re-energize the Catholic Church by developing world-class resources that inspire people to rediscover Catholicism.

A few weeks ago, my husband Arthur and I traveled to Virginia to celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary. As Arthur is a Marine veteran, we paid a visit to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. We perused military artifacts in the meticulously curated galleries that flow chronologically from the colonial times of the Corps’ foundation to Vietnam (exhibit halls featuring Iraq and Afghanistan are set to open in 2025).

Autumn is a time of marathons. I recently completed my first marathon, the Catholic Health-Suffolk County Marathon, in a time of 4 hours and 26 minutes. Truth be told, my journey of 26.2 miles began two and half years earlier, when a life-changing coronary event redirected me on a path toward better health and gratitude for the blessings in my life.

As the war in Israel and Gaza continues, as almost 200 kidnapped hostages suffer unknown fates, as millions of Israelis and Gazans live in fear, in a war that was unleashed as the next chapter of Hamas’ stated desire to wipe Israel off the map and take as many Jews with it as possible, I invite us to remember that our responses to this conflict say as much about us as they do about people and causes thousands of miles away.

Tuesday, Oct. 10, marked the 13th annual World Homeless Day. Started in 2010 by social workers, housing providers, family scientists, and allied individuals, World Homeless Day aims to humanize the lived experiences and comorbid factors that unhoused people often endure — experiences and factors that are too often misunderstood as threats by those outside of the system. 

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.