As I recently walked through Signers’ Hall at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, I found myself surrounded by forty-two life-size bronze statues. They represent the delegates who gathered at the Constitutional Convention—those who signed the Constitution and those who chose not to sign. These men had spent months debating, disagreeing, worrying, and compromising. They knew the document before them was imperfect. Yet many signed it, believing that it offered a f

While visiting the Colosseum yesterday, I noticed a pile of stones and stopped to take a photograph. Those stones reminded me of an old proverb: “Rome was not built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.” We often focus on the first part: “Rome was not built in a day.” We use it to remind ourselves to be patient. But the second part is equally important: they were laying bricks every hour. Patience does not mean doing nothing. It means continuing faithfully, even w

This year marks the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis. Yesterday, in Assisi, I visited the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, home to the small church St. Francis rebuilt after hearing Christ say, “Francis, repair My Church.” At first, he understood these words literally. The church was old and falling apart, so he repaired its stones with his own hands. In time, he realized that Christ was calling him to something greater. The Church is not only a building mad