Alicia asked for a list of "must-have" Catholic magazines, so here it is (at least in my opinion); an initial list of periodicals I believe you'd do well to subscribe to. These ten are listed in no order of importance or preeminence, except, of course, for entry #1, and there's no disrespect intended toward any other good Catholic publication not mentioned here . . .

1) Envoy Magazine — (what can I say?) If I may be excused for saying so, Envoy is, flat out, a great apologetics magazine. That's what our readers tell us, judging from the many comments, calls, letters, and e-mails we receive each week. Envoy looks great, is packed with excellent and stimulating content, and wall-to-wall trend-setting graphics that are the envoy, er, the envy of the Catholic apologetics magazine industry (just see how they try to emulate Envoy!). The articles and departments are consistently relevant, trustworthy, balanced, loyal to the pope, edited by our own Carl Olson and, above all, always charitable.

2) Crisis Magazine — Excellent monthly journal of reliable and thought-provoking social commentary, orthodox theology, and just plain interesting articles on fascinating subjects such as the Crusades, Islam, Protestantism, Converts, and more. Besides, one of our Envoy alumni and a dear friend of mine, Brian Saint-Paul (who used to be a key player on our editorial staff a few years ago), is now the Senior Editor.

3) The National Catholic Register — I know it's not a magazine, but as weekly Catholic newspapers go, it's a good choice for solid and trustworthy Catholic news and interesting articles.

4) The Catholic Answer — Published by Our Sunday Visitor Press, it's a helpful mainstream publication dedicated to answering basic questions posed by Catholics and non-Catholics.

5) This Rock — I was a co-founder of this venerable (if only 13 year-old) magazine of apologetics, so I'm prejudiced in its favor. It's an extension of Karl Keating's "Catholic Answers" apostolate, so you can be confident it will be good.

6) Magnificat — A splendid monthly "magazine" (if one can call it that), which is really the readings and prayers for the month presented in a beautiful and handy pocket-sized format. I highly recommend this one for your daily devotional life. My lovely wife Nancy reads Magnificat daily, so you know it's got to be excellent (she's an angel)!

7) Our Sunday Visitor — Another Catholic weekly newspaper that's less focused on hard news and more focused on thoughtful and balanced analysis of Catholic and contemporary stories.

8) Inside the Vatican — A lush and fascinating mix of news, commentary, and photo-journalism from the heart of the Catholic Church: the Vatican.

9) Lay Witness — Catholics United for the Faith's always interesting and always faithful monthly magazine. Includes regular articles from luminaries such as Leon Suprenant, Scott Hahn, and others.

10) Catholic World Report — Another good source for global Catholic News. It's part of the Ignatius Press umbrella of publications.

And so, dear Alicia . . .  let me suggest that if you subscribe to these ten periodicals, starting with Envoy Magazine, of course, you'll be well-fed on a tasty spiritual and intellectual diet of authentic Catholic teaching, trustworthy social commentary, good humor (especially in the case of Envoy), and generally interesting articles and departments. Happy reading!