Molly Cahill

2 weeks 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.

3 weeks ago | 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.

1 month ago | 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.

1 month ago | 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.

2 months ago | 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.