A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend 10 days in and around Mexico City. The first half of our trip included visits to various holy sites and churches, ample time at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and a couple opportunities to be immersed in the...
We’ve all been there. The day just isn’t going well. The culprit could be a rough night with the kiddos, bad news, or maybe you’re just in a funk and don’t know why. I don’t enjoy any of those, but for me, the worst part is that a bad day can be hard to shake. It’s...
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? – Edgar Allan Poe The film, The Pale Blue Eye, opens with this line from the famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe. It is a fictional story...
When my grandma turned 91, I remember her saying: “You can find joy in all stages of life.” That’s always stuck with me. I know it to be true in regards to getting older, but I also believe it to be true in relationship to the world: You can find joy in all...
It was December 24th, 2019, and I was on my way to Rochester, Minnesota to serve at the Christmas Vigil Mass at our co-Cathedral for my Bishop, John Quinn. I showed up early to get things set up, but I was distracted like a teenage boy trying to clean his room. My...
The first thing to realize about prayer is that it can be boring. Just about everything else we do gives us results within a relatively short period of time. Not so in prayer. I began praying the rosary daily as a freshman in high school. My motive was to pray for...
When you love someone, you don’t just hang out with them once a week for Friday night dates. You want to be with them, in person, every moment you can. You don’t need entertainment. You don’t always need to understand each other or even say much. You just want to be...
I want to introduce two things to you- discernment of spirits as taught by St. Ignatius and Satan as the great accuser. St. Ignatius taught that there are three spirits at work in our lives. The first is the spirit of God. The idea is that we can tell which...
As Catholics, we have a desire to know the Lord, to deepen our relationship with God. To somehow invite Jesus Christ, who pursues us each personally, into every part of our lives. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also...
Health and soundness are better than all gold, and a robust body than countless riches. Sirach 30:15 St. Paul made clear that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16 -1 7; 6:19 – 20), and St. Thomas elaborated in his great Summa Theologica that...
Start 2024 strong by committing to grow in your Catholic faith and answering the call to be devoted to daily prayer. Our Catholic Guide to 2024 will lead you with the quotes, monthly devotions, and intentions to help you stay motivated each month of the year. Save or...
Today we mourn the loss of Pope Benedict XVI, a holy man of God who lived the faith well. May he rest in the arms of God for eternity! Read more about his life and be inspired by his legacy. Pope Benedict XVI Dies At The Age Of 95...
This Catholic Year in Review is not an exhaustive list of every important event to happen in 2022, but these are some of the biggest news stories in the United States and globally to transpire in the Catholic world. The war in Ukraine, the German Synodal Way, the...
“Each day that begins, if welcomed in prayer, is accompanied by courage, so that the problems we have to face no longer seem to be obstacles to our happiness, but rather appeals from God, opportunities for our encounter with him.” Pope Francis We all know that we...
As December draws to a close, the bare trees and winter winds tempt me to think that God lies dormant with the rest of creation. He chose this season, however, for His incarnation, showing me that the Lord works wonders in the moments that seem the most unexpected....
Who is St. John of the Cross? St. John of the Cross was a Spanish Catholic who was born in 1542 amidst the throws of the Protestant Reformation. He was a major figure in the Catholic Counter-Reformation and would later be named a Doctor of the Church. He was a priest,...
Gospel of Matthew 11:2-11 When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,"Are you the one who is to come,or should we look for another?"Jesus said to them in reply,"Go and tell John what you hear and...
Living in the 4th century A.D., St. Ambrose was bishop of Milan during a tumultuous era of Church history. His road to ordination was an interesting journey. The sudden death of the current bishop of Milan in 374 A.D. left the bishop's seat open amid the climate of...
“So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. “ Luke, 2:3 It is easy to imagine the chaos that consumed Bethlehem during Caesar’s census. It is fitting, because like Mary and Joseph, we too are likely spending this time of year traveling, visiting the places and...
Imagine kneeling in a room with eleven-thousand college students. The lights are dim, and the spotlights follow the priest holding a Monstrance, walking through the aisles. The choir is singing the verse, “I give myself to you, Lord,” over and over again. People are...
One of the most common objects Catholics keep in their homes is a crucifix. Jesus’ suffering on the Cross is a reminder that his death was the means to destroying death. Many non-Catholics have charged Catholics with being too focused on the death of Christ rather...
Author’s note: Are you contemplating taking your own life? - Please call or text 988 before you do anything else! There is always hope and always a better life just around the corner! You are not alone. Death is a Part of Our Fallen Reality Human beings are no...
Gospel of Luke 18:9-14 Jesus addressed this parableto those who were convinced of their own righteousnessand despised everyone else."Two people went up to the temple area to pray;one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.The Pharisee took up his position...
Humility is, as it were, a disposition to man’s untrammeled access to spiritual and divine goods.St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica, II-II Q. 161. a. 5) St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that pride (superbia in the Latin), “is so-called because a man thereby aims higher...
When we think of the saints and martyrs, especially the first Christians, we struggle to conceptualize their experiences. We don’t live in the same era, they seem “more Catholic” than us, and their level of holiness can feel unrelatable and unattainable. The...