I know how difficult going to Mass can be. But I also know I feel worse when I stay home.

“Let us join hands and pray as the Lord taught us.” That sentence should not cause me dread—but it does.

In the fifth episode of "Plague," Mike visits the small Midwestern city of Belleville, Illinois, where a Catholic Sister broke ground in the 1980s by opening an organization to provide services for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Just as I took care to exercise physically for the endurance of my heart, I needed to break a spiritual sweat for the good of my soul.

Learn more at www.americamag.org/plague.

We did not undergo the prenatal testing that can identify the condition when I was pregnant with Dylan. We knew that the results would not change anything, and our doctor was fine with our decision.