Ellie Hidalgo writes from Los Angeles.

The Kool-Aid Bandit

Rushing out the door on my way to work, I was stopped cold by large yellow spray-painted letters: F-U-C-K. The word screamed from the white…

Che in L.A.

Does Cuba’s revolutionary and pop icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara truly inspire those of us working for peace and justice in the 21st century? A recent…

Modern Day Martyrs

Summertime…and the living is on the go. This summer I headed south to El Salvador in Central America. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful land country, but…

The Other Side of Loss

Down for the count During his homily on World Marriage Day, the priest asked everyone who had been married less than a year to stand…

Rite You Are

I love the Easter rituals that help me connect with the emotion and significance of this holiest day of the year. So I felt particularly…

Accounting Before God

Recently, I was talking with a group of socially conscious Catholic friends about money. The question came up, “How does being Catholic influence how we…

A Prophet in Progress

In Oscar Romero: Memories in Mosaic, editor Mar?a L?pez Vigil paints a collective portrait of the beloved prophet, pastor, consoler, and martyr of El Salvador.…

Sex, Drugs, and Mandolins

Sex, drugs, and mandolins. That pretty much describes the first half of Francis of Assisi’s life, says best-selling author David Spoto. His book, Reluctant Saint:…