Author Archives: Melicia Antonio

There is a scene from the film “The Passion of the Christ” that often comes back to my memory during Holy Week: Mary, seeing Jesus crushed under the weight of the cross, hastens to comfort him, and he turns to … Continue reading →

Hidden in a niche in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Sebastian is a little-known Bernini treasure: his “Salvator Mundi,” or Saviour of the World. I rather happened upon it by accident, popping into a cool church to find relief after a … Continue reading →

If a stranger had to walk into the Centro de Formación of Monterrey, where I have lived for the past five years, and guess what religious order it belonged to, he might have a hard time. I say “might”, because … Continue reading →

Downtown San Diego, California, the early 1990’s. Sister Jean handed me another stack of envelopes. I happily stuck the stamps onto them and passed them to another volunteer who was filling them with brochures of St. Paul’s bookstore’s latest merchandise. … Continue reading →

There is something about grace that makes it strangely un-American. In our egalitarian, self-governing society, built on the shoulders of hard-working individuals and “justice for all”, there’s something creepy about receiving free and unearned gifts from an omnipotent being who … Continue reading →

“A paradox is not a conflict within reality. It is a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality should be like.” — Richard Feynman It’s not easy finding people who like reading the works of American fiction writer … Continue reading →

When I tell my fellow Americans that I live in Monterrey, Mexico, their first question is often, “And are things okay there?” The drug-related violence in Monterrey and in the state of Nuevo León has been escalating in recent years, … Continue reading →

I was stunned and unbelieving the first time I saw it in Kentucky: twenty cars on a Friday night slowly circling around a McDonald’s restaurant.  At first I thought McDonald’s must have beendoing good business with their new Chicken something, … Continue reading →

Last year was tough for the Movement.  I can hardly believe that only two and a half years have passed since we first received the news about Fr. Maciel. So much has happened in such a short time: so many … Continue reading →