Mother Katharine Drexel founded schools nationwide, including Xavier University, and a religious order to serve people of color.

The turn in spirit is inevitable, a sudden ambivalence. Longing for a few hours without the kids, I rush around the house preparing the children for a day with a care provider other than myself. With eager anticipation I spread the peanut butter and jelly. I wash the breakfast dishes, pack extra clo

I am a slothful pray-er. At Mass I pray standing up, kneeling or sitting along with the flock. But at home I seem to pray more earnestly—in a prone position. Sheer laziness, probably, but I rationalize the act by assuring myself that God doesn’t mind. The posture isn’t important, n

The other day a friend called to tell me her newborn boy had been rushed to the hospital. The doctors had discovered a serious heart defect. "What can I do?" I immediately asked. The answer was simple enough. She needed companionship as she camped out day and night in the I.C.U. waiting ro

I smiled at John, lying on the couch with 7-month-old Carl sleeping on his stomach. Following two difficult miscarriages, Carl’s birth was truly a miracle for us, and we reveled in the wonder of our child. John noted my gaze and quietly whispered, "Amy, if I ever die, make sure you tell C

Perhaps the N.R.A. has met its match. All the money in the world cannot contend with the rage of a mother torn from her child.