I am alive because a woman spent years watching me emerge from the dead and refused to be afraid. 

In this year, with the pilgrims gone and the holy places nearly empty, I set out to spend some time on the Mount of Olives to see what I can learn from the ancient trees.

Joyce Coleman sings the soul of a community whose faith has been tested by fire across generations, centuries, in this country. To sing such a faith is, for this white Catholic, to be filled with wonder and gratitude—beyond words, beyond speech, beyond concept.

My parents never told me this, but parenting adults is hard.

Lent is when we sit down in a loud and confusing world and try to figure out what we’re doing here. That is all the more important for the people who are most confused.

Mary Stephen Healey, R.D.C. has continued to lead and serve the students, faculty and families at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Elmsford, N.Y., even during a pandemic.