Open foot, insert mouth. Wait. I mean the other way around. Fr. Michael Zimmerman here, assistant director at Vocations Boston. I’ve probably said a few items on this list myself, and I’ve been on the receiving end of far more, but how can we actually encourage...
I was a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity when I learned that there is a difference between being happy and being joyful. Up until then, I had thought the terms were interchangeable. Someone could be happy being able to see their friends. A...
If you missed Ask a Priest Live with Fr. George Elliott, you can watch the replay here. Each Sunday at 3:00 PM Central, I go live on the Catholic-Link Facebook page. I will start with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, then provide a quick reflection...
When we hear Bible words like “salvation”, “redemption”, and “covenant”, it can be easy to file them away as relics from another time and place that don't actually affect us anymore. It is easy to forget that these religious words really do mean something for us here...
Sr. Mary Jo Sobieck is the latest nun making sports news on the internet. Her "perfect pitch" has caught the attention of every major news outlet, is fascinating viewers on social media, and was even featured on ESPN's sports highlights. Check it out what the Chicago...
Many Catholics are blessed to have a priest friend. Or, even if they’re not someone you consider your friend, you still may have that priest who you look up to. You know, the one you talk to every Sunday either before or after Mass. The one who has known you for years...
Dear priests, Let’s just cut to the chase… You do A LOT for us. Probably more than you know. But, there is something that we aren’t sure if you know…and that is how THANKFUL we are for everything that you all do! So, as a token of our appreciation, we have a...
The Capuchin Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart in Poland have made it a habit to workout each morning in their habits in order to keep strong and able to serve orphaned children. You'll be inspired by the intensity with which these hardworking nuns hit the gym. We can...
https://catholic-link.org/infographic-what-is-the-meaning-behind-the-priestly-vestments-a-practical-guide/ God calls those He wants to be priests. He chooses them from among His people in order to consecrate them, to make them His own. From that moment on, priests no...
We know we can always count on our priests to be present at Mass and all the liturgical celebrations around the holidays. We watch the deacon assist during sacraments and parish life. We proudly acknowledge the hard work and preparation seminarians undergo for the...
A little while ago, TIME magazine published an article about a phenomenon that’s becoming more and more common in the United States: the increasing number of millennial seminarians and priests. Millennials are the generation born between the 80s and mid-90s. They are...
Being a seminarian, I’m surrounded by other seminarians and I’ve heard a variety of vocation stories. What always amazes me is how the Lord calls each man differently to the priesthood. Some felt urged to explore this vocation through promptings from the Holy Spirit,...
The month of August is jam packed with feasts of spiritual powerhouses. August 4th - or 8th in the pre-1962 calendar - is the commemoration of St. John Vianney, also known as the Curé of Ars. Born in 1786, the fourth of six children to devout Catholic parents in the...
On July 11th in the Liturgical Calendar, and on March 21st in the pre-1970 calendar, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Benedict of Nursia, father of Western Monasticism. Saint Benedict's name has garnered more attention of late due to the conversation across the...
Fr. Ian Van Heusen provides a Gospel commentary and video each week for Catholic-Link. He loves being a priest, but there is one thing that bothers him about his vocation. In this video, Fr. Ian shares that people actually asked him more spiritual questions when he...
In the history of the Church, the regular clergy, that is to say the communities that decide to live by a determined rule which dictates their religious practices, have been something like the Ecclesiastical body’s lung. The Church, although Holy, has had a need for...
How is it possible that a young man decides to leave everything behind to enter the seminary? Why would this young woman decided to leave her old life to shut herself in a convent? How did this man leave his career and prestigious job to follow God? All these are...
The Dominican Order was canonically established in the year 1216 by Pope Honorius III. Named after their founder, St. Dominic, they claim the official designation is the Ordo Praedicatorum (O.P.), or, in English, the Order of Preachers. Various mottoes characterize...
Do you ever get confused by the many religious orders that the Catholic Church has? Each individual order has their own particular character, or charism, attracting different people with the same common style of prayer, work and way of life. The religious orders are...
I can't believe it took me two years to find this video! Happy Nun has turned "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?" into "Do You Wanna Be a Sister?" and the result is a very inspirational song about how to discern the call to pursue a religious vocation. If...
The fact that these Franciscan Friars of the Renewal aren't trying to be cool makes the many different things they do even cooler. From basketball to cooking, these Friars have found creative ways to engage the culture and it's working. Their YouTube videos have...
I know, I know, the title is not encouraging, but let me explain to you why I think it correctly responds to the reality that I want to explore. We are living in a very difficult time for the Church, a time of pain and embarrassment due to various types of scandals:...
In my life I’ve listened to diverse opinions about what candidates for the priesthood should be like, how they should behave before entering the seminary and how they should lead an impeccable life. Many people believe that those men who feel the call of God to the...
It's not what you would typically expect, but this unique group of nuns found a way to use their gifts to evangelize through music. When they realized that so many of them were musically talented, they decided to form their own band. And not just any band... a rock...
Events like World Youth Day or a young saint's canonization (recently, Saint José Sanchez del Río), tend to spawn a boom in vocations to the consecrated life like fungi after a storm. It’s only logical. These celebratory events in the Church can be very moving and...