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Current Issue
Welcome to the latest edition of Parable! Click on the image on the left to see the full edition. See the links below to read individual articles.
Bearing the Mark of Devotions, Prayers and Miracles: Our Lady of Einsiedeln
I have a small hand-carved statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, just barely 12 inches tall. It is fashioned in “the Gothic style” of a young woman who wears neither veil nor mantle.
She holds in her right hand a distaff used for spinning thread or yarn (it resembles a royal scepter), and in the crook of her left arm, she holds the child Jesus, who holds, as if it were a plaything, a little bird.
From Civil to Sacramental: Six Couples Say ‘I do’
By Katie Lovett
Jenny Capellan met her now-husband Jose when they were just kids.
The two attended the same schools in the Dominican Republic and graduated from high school together. But, it wasn’t until they attended a class reunion in 2011 that they actually had their first really deep conversation.
While they spoke, something just clicked. From there, friendship grew quickly into love and the pair got married in a civil ceremony in 2016.
Jesus’ Mission Includes All Humanity
Q: Dear Father Francis, I recently watched a television program about ancient civilizations in the Amazon. Archeologists found human artifacts dating back 15,000 years. It is clear that these people did not know Jesus while he was on Earth. But if Jesus came to save all humanity, are the people of those ancient civilizations saved as well, even if they did not know His teachings?
A: Dear friends,
This question, which reflects your desire for all to share in the love of God you experience, touches on a profound mystery of our faith — the universality of Jesus’ mission and God’s plan for those who lived before or without knowledge of Him.
To answer this question, we must begin with a fundamental truth. Catholics are not pantheists. We do not believe that God is everything, i.e., a tree or a rock. That is idolatry. What we do believe is that God is in everything.
The Heart of a Mother: Praying with St. Monica
“My child left the Church and I don’t know how to bring them back.”
Time and again, in all my years of serving the Church, this is the heartbreaking story I have heard from mothers. The story seems so common, and yet its familiarity does not assuage the guilt, pain or anguish these mothers feel.
Gilead Unfolds as a Joyful Hymn to Life
In the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa, in 1956, John Ames, a Congregationalist pastor, begins to write a letter to his 7-year-old son. Ames, 76, is dying from a heart condition, and knows that his son will not remember much about him.
This is the premise of Gilead, the first of Marilynne Robinson’s four-novel Gilead series; the novel itself takes the form of John’s letter.
Listening to Our Ghosts: Catholics and Immigration
“I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.” ~ Pope Francis, February 2025
Late Spring may seem like an odd time to be thinking about A Christmas Carol. My 1966 Macmillan Classics edition of Dickens’ tale contains an afterword by Clifton Fadiman, which begins with this memorable line: “I happen to be setting down these words on July 4.”
Check out the Finding Communion podcast where Rosemary Ford, the editor of Parable magazine and Robert Dunn, the director of Public Policy for the Diocese of Manchester discuss politics, the Eucharist and the common good, expanding on themes readers will see in the latest editions of Parable.
Journey with Our Eucharistic Lord this Jubilee Year
By Tara Bishop
89 parishes, 26 Catholic schools, 33 days, in reverence of One Lord.
The New Hampshire Eucharistic Pilgrimage (NHEP) kicks off on May 18 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester. It will visit every parish and school in the Diocese of Manchester, along with special stops at Catholic colleges, hospitals and cemeteries until it concludes at the Cathedral on June 19, the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Children Can Be Our Most Cherished Spiritual Teachers
By Gary Bouchard
This past year my wife and I received a great promotion when our first grandchild was born.
Suddenly, just like her, we had the word “grand” added to our parenting title.
“Frankie,” named for America’s first saint, Mother Frances Cabrini, has quickly come to occupy a spacious place in our hearts and in the photo memory of our phones.
Once a Priest, Always a Priest
When I was in the seminary, one of our professors would say, “Remember gentlemen when you become a priest, you will be a priest forever. You will be a priest every minute of every day for the rest of your lives, and you will be a priest every place you go — so be good priests, the world needs good priests. Not only is God watching, so is everyone else.”