I like snakes, which is a good thing, since I’ve encountered a lot of them, often in unexpected places. Most memorable was the black rat snake that got into our bathroom and coiled majestically around the toilet. There was also...
Advent challenges us to shed harmful misconceptions
If we’ve built our entire identities on edifices of falsehood, a season of unveiling can feel as destructive as the world’s end.
New from our staff
December 2025
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CURRENT ISSUE
Ever ancient, ever new
Digital artists are transforming centuries-old churches into canvases of light.
BY GABRIELLA PATTI
The women behind the pulpit
Catholic women are forming a new generation of preachers—and, sometimes, preaching themselves.
BY KELLY SANKOWSKI
The mothers we missed
From Mary to Herodias, biblical mothers defy expectations and reveal God’s surprising ways, says this biblical scholar.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER HOUSTON MCNEEL
Consider the goon
A closer look at a beloved holiday classic inspires a meditation on liberation.
BY PATRICK GALLAGHER
In the bleak midwinter
Advent wasn’t a season of joy for medieval Catholics. Maybe we can learn from their approach to anticipation.
BY ELLYN SANNA
Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation, a road that leads us to the incarnation. We are not to rush through Advent; it is a process we must live through in the same way we live through the creative process.
Dani M. Jiménez
