Read my new article for U.S. Catholic: "What Is Canon Law?"

 

Dawn Eden Goldstein, January 2025. Photo by Agaton Strom.

"A never-married man meets a divorced woman whose ex-husband is still alive. They fall in love and want to marry in the Catholic Church.

"A media outlet that brands itself 'Real Catholic' causes disruption in the Catholic community as it promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories.

"A group of women who are consecrated members of a Catholic religious institute feel that the Holy Spirit is calling them to leave their institute so they may start a new one.

"What do all those scenarios have in common? Each pertains to canon law ..."

— Read the rest in my new article published in the March 2025 issue of U.S. Catholic, "What Is Canon Law?" It's part of the magazine's long-running series "Glad You Asked."

Watch me unbox my new book The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times

Today I had the joy of receiving my author copies of The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times. I visited the local Madonna House community, where member Cathy graciously worked the camera so I could capture the moment of unboxing the beautiful books. Madonna House founder Catherine de Hueck Doherty (currently a candidate for sainthood) and her husband Eddie Doherty are among the holy people whose spirituality of the Sacred Heart I describe in the book. 

The Sacred Heart hits stores next month; in the meantime, a generous preview is available at this link. I'm eager to give talks about it, so please email me at the address on my Biography page if you would like me to speak on the Sacred Heart in your town.

My latest for Where Peter Is: A tale of two converts

A screenshot of the headline of my article as it appears on Where Peter Is

I am grateful to have a new article published in Where Peter Is: "A Tale of Two Converts." One of those converts, Julia Greeley, is among the "Saintly Six" African Americans in line for canonization. I researched her story for my upcoming book The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times. The life and witness of this amazing woman can teach us all a lot about love.

The secret Catholic history of USAID

The latest story on my Substack, Matters Twomey

Just a quick note to invite you to visit my Substack, Matters Twomey, where I've just posted about Father Louis J. Twomey, SJ's pioneering work with USAID. The post shares research from the biography I am writing of Father Twomey, A Priest in Good Trouble.

A mega-preview of my upcoming book The Sacred Heart is now available

The Sacred Heart preview as it appears on Issuu.com

Today I received a most welcome surprise: Loyola Press posted a 38-page preview of my next book, The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times. It's the largest preview that any publisher of mine has ever shared, and I am thrilled. 

Another happy bit of news is that sponsors have been reaching out to invite me to speak on The Sacred Heart. Thus far, I have Sacred Heart talks scheduled in Ohio and West Virginia, and I expect soon to schedule one in my home city of Washington, DC. Visit my Talks page for the latest tour news, and write me (dawneden at gmail) if you'd like to bring me to speak on The Sacred Heart in your city.

My next book, The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times, now available for online preview

It was a delight to discover last week that the Amazon page for my book The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times, coming in March from Loyola Press, now includes a generous preview. Google Books also offers a preview, though it doesn't included as many pages as the Amazon one—see below.

I am eager to give talks on the Sacred Heart, so if you'd like to bring me to speak at your bookshop, parish, or university, please write to me. My email address can be found at the end of my online press bio.

 

My Father Ed biography is now available as an audiobook

The cover of the Audible edition of Father Ed

I'm thrilled to announce that, following many requests from people seeking an audio version of my biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ, Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor, Orbis Books has released Father Ed on Audible. 

The reader is my longtime friend Kevin O'Brien, an actor who has recorded over one hundred audiobooks. He is from Dowling's hometown of St. Louis, which adds an air of authenticity—starting with the pronunciation of Father Ed's home neighborhood of Baden (with a long "a"). I couldn't be more pleased with this release, which gives sight-impaired people and all audiobook lovers a chance to learn how Father Ed, through his friendship with Bill W., helped shape the spirituality behind the Twelve Steps.

Tidings of great joy

Merry Christmas! I invite you to visit Matters Twomey to read about a miracle of the season that I was blessed to experience.