Molly Cahill

New York

Associate Editor at America Magazine

Associate editor @americamag. BC ‘20. She/Her/Hers

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Articles

Is there a holier life waiting for me on the other side of worry?

1 week ago | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

Loading... Click here if you don’t see subscription optionsA Reflection for the Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, ReligiousFind today’s readings here. Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? (Matthew 6:27)Worry is one of my most consistent companions. It’s not that I enjoy worrying; I don’t think anybody does. But especially amid the dangers and stresses of modern life, worrying seems almost wise.
A gift from God-to God

3 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

Loading... Click here if you don’t see subscription optionsLight shines through the dome above the Edicule, the traditional site of Jesus' burial and resurrection, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City, April 16, 2025. The church is normally packed with Christian pilgrims during holy week, but visitors are few with the Israel-Hamas conflict still raging. (OSV News photo/Debbie Hill)A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and MartyrFind today’s readings here.
A belief that goes on

1 month ago | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

Loading... Click here if you don’t see subscription optionsWhite smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel March 13, 2013, at the Vatican signaling that Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis, was elected the 266th Roman Catholic pontiff. The cardinals will again gather May 7, 2025, to elect a a successor to Pope Francis, who died April 21. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)A Reflection for Monday of the Third Week of EasterFind today’s readings here.
Why Pope Francis means so much to non-Catholics

2 months ago | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

Of all the things that have surprised me about working at America (and there have been many), there is one that takes the cake. I have become a Publicly Catholic Person. When the church or the pope or the bishops break into the secular news, people in my life, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, text me, often out of the blue. They have questions or want to know if I have a take on the situation. I often feel like a mini-spokeswoman for the church, at least to my own network.
Why it’s great to be wrong

Mar 28, 2025 | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

A Reflection for Saturday of the Fourth Week of LentFind today’s readings here. Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,“This is truly the Prophet.”Others said, “This is the Christ.”But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s familyand come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him,but no one laid hands on him.
‘Say Nothing’ breaks the I.R.A.’s code of silence

Mar 7, 2025 | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

This review contains spoilers. When a show features two young Irish girls in nuns’ habits robbing a bank in its very first episode, I know I’m going to keep watching. In this case, though, I already knew it was going to happen because I had read about it—and because it happened in real life. I read Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing on the plane home from a vacation in Ireland.
I’m a hypocrite. On Ash Wednesday, that’s a really big problem.

Feb 28, 2025 | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

A Reflection for Ash WednesdayFind today’s readings here. I am a hypocrite. At least I often feel like one—especially when it comes to matters of faith. That’s a problem because in the Gospel reading for a day as important in the liturgical calendar as today is, being Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, Jesus basically begs his disciples not to be like the hypocrites. Three times over he asks them to avoid following this model—in almsgiving, in prayer and in fasting.
What John the Baptist foreshadows about Jesus

Feb 6, 2025 | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

A Reflection for Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary TimeFind today’s readings here. King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,and people were saying,"John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;That is why mighty powers are at work in him." (Mk 6:14)The beheading of John the Baptist has inspired lots of artistic interpretations. When we read Mark’s telling in today’s Gospel, we can see why; it has all the elements of a great story.
We are people of hope. But it’s OK to lament Donald Trump’s victory

Nov 15, 2024 | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

The book of Lamentations (iStock/jodie777)Donald Trump won the election. It’s O.K. to lament that. The country is sharply divided in the wake of this news; the results make that abundantly clear. For those who supported Vice President Kamala Harris, the emotions around her loss are complex and painful.
The Gospel case against canceling plans

Nov 1, 2024 | americamagazine.org | Molly Cahill

A Reflection for Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary TimeFind today’s readings here. ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerowsand make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’ (Lk 14:23-24)The Gospel message for today: Host a dinner party for a bunch of total strangers. Well, maybe that’s not totally it.