By George Pence– (Editorial note: This week The Boy Monk’s regular contributors all address the theme of Advent, a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to welcoming…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– (Editorial note: This week The Boy Monk’s regular contributors all address the theme of Advent, a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to…

By George Pence– There is no town more perfectly named than Echo, Utah. A century ago it had a population numbered in hundreds. Now its residual population is perhaps twenty…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Pope Francis’s speech to Congress two years ago discussed four persons “who shaped fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit of the American people.”…

By Jean Welch Hill– As a Catholic social justice advocate, fellow Catholics sometimes express concerns about the church’s involvement in what are seen as political actions. While Catholic doctrine overflows…

By Gary Topping– Among other things, the Advent and Christmas seasons are a time of new beginnings: a new liturgical year is followed a month later by a new calendar…

By George Pence– What do we owe those who would have us violate our sense of what’s right? Well, I think, quite a lot actually. Many years ago I converted…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– John Lennon died on December 8, 1980. As a lifelong Beatles fan, I was very sad. His assassination eclipsed an event a few days before that…

By Father David Altman, O.C.S.O.– (This article, dated September 1987, is part of the public archives of the Huntsville History Library, which is open every Wednesday from 10 am to…

By George Pence– A few years ago, I lived in an older middle class neighborhood in Salt Lake City. The modest homes there were built during the first half of…