Within hours of the Oct. 27 massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, religious leaders in Carbondale were making plans to come together in solidarity and healing. The next day, more than 150 people crowded into Congregation Beth Jacob in Carbondale offering prayers for the victims of the shooting, as well as everyone affected by the violent attack.
There’s no one way and no perfect time to discern a vocation. Some people realize as children that they want to become priests or sisters. Others hear their calling in high school or college. Still others come to it later in adulthood, after another career.
In Cherán, a small town in central Mexico, residents hold a special reverence for St. Francis of Assisi, celebrating his feast day Oct. 4 with a Mass, music, dances and food.
At St. Augustine of Hippo’s parish school of religion program, parents, church and catechists don’t operate separately, they are woven together to form a strong connection between children and their Catholic faith. Parents support the catechists through assignments that promote family religious education at home.
The death of a baby during pregnancy never leaves a parent. Emily York has seen those reverberations, as she works to provide ways for families to remember their children lost to miscarriage.