A forum of Catholic Thought

True Mission is Giving and Receiving

Maureen Crowley Heil
June 13, 2025

The country of Zambia, in southeastern Africa, is twenty-eight times the size of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in area. Their population is only double ours. To say that populated areas are few and ...

Witnessing the Gospel at Work in the Missions

Maureen Crowley Heil
June 6, 2025

As a teenager, my middle son once told me that he thought he could give me any vocabulary word and I'd make it into a "mission moment." (I think it was a compliment!) The same thing happens to me ...

Memorial Day: Pause, Pray, Honor

Maureen Crowley Heil
May 23, 2025

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:13). As we pause to commemorate Memorial Day, let's remember ...

A Missionary of Hope and Love

Maureen Crowley Heil
May 16, 2025

In 1959, 13-year-old Dubliner Andy Campbell was working as a supermarket stock boy. His parents had no money for secondary school, so it seemed his future as a laborer was set. As he worked, he recalled ...

Journey to the Ends of the Earth in Prayer

Maureen Crowley Heil
May 9, 2025

As I have been privileged to travel around the world, witnessing the work funded by the Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS), I make it a point to carry World Mission Rosaries with me. The World Mission ...

Sometimes, a Hero wears a Cape and a Veil

Maureen Crowley Heil
May 2, 2025

In the Diocese of Yendi in northern Ghana, missionaries are working to educate people about the acceptance of children born with disabilities. In the minds of some people who hold traditional beliefs, ...

'To Change the World, We Must Be Good to Those Who Cannot Repay Us'

Maureen Crowley Heil
April 25, 2025

The first time I heard Pope Francis proclaim these words through one of his social media accounts early on in his pontificate, my first thought was, "Well, yeah..." It seemed like pretty basic theology ...

Living a Life of Gratitude

Maureen Crowley Heil
April 18, 2025

High in the mountains of the Diocese of Galle, Sri Lanka sits the Silisiliya Tea Estate that employs most of the area's population. It is generational work. If your grandparents were tea-pickers, ...