Living the Christian faith comes down to these three ways of life: prayer, humility, and obedience. No matter who you are or where you come from, if you truly want to be a committed and faithful Christian: (1) you must spend some serious time engaged in vocal prayer (both privately and with the community in […]
A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture: “One of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice” (Luke 17:15). Jesus always responds to prayers made in faith. The faith of the ten lepers brought them a miraculous cure, but the faith of one brought him back to the feet of Jesus, where […]
Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman once said: “Faith is illuminative, not operative; it does not force obedience, though it increases responsibility; it heightens guilt, but it does not prevent sin. The will is the source of action.” If the will is the source of action and faith is illuminative because it comes from God, then […]
When I was in college, I prayed and discerned a vocation to become a sister or a nun. I was enthralled by the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart, since I had had the honor of working with and forthem at a Catholic School in Florida. Fortunately for me, I was assigned to work with […]
“Sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalm 98:1). A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture: Today’s Responsorial Psalm speaks of the freshness of prayer we experience with a new life in Christ. Our prayers of petition become enhanced by prayers of praise—that is, God becomes the object of our prayers and we begin to honor […]
As persons and as a Church we have been challenged during the Year of Faith to reach deep within ourselves to truly know, understand, and live the reality that God is a Most Holy Trinity, that God chose to become incarnate so that we would know Him in the most intimate ways possible, and that […]
It now seems so long ago, but just eight months ago Pope Benedict the Beloved resigned the papacy. Catholics had no modern frame of reference for such an event, and many with agendas of their own in the news media, and even in the Church, used our shock and dismay to sow discord and doubt. […]
A third-inning, bases-loaded double off Fenway Park’s Green Monster was the spark the Boston Red Sox needed to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 and clinch the World Series championship. The star who supplied that pivotal hit was right fielder Shane Victorino, who celebrated as he stood on the base by pounding his […]
…Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, ‘When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a […]
“It seems to me that a principal cause of the loss of faith is the dropping off in the practice of the family rosary … the abandonment of the family rosary is a main reason why so many Catholics have lost the faith…. the Church of the future is going to consist solely of those […]
One of the most challenging parts of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples — The Lord’s Prayer — comes near the end: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. That’s not necessarily meant to be a challenge on the surface. At first glance, it actually should bring us great joy. […]
It was such a weird assignment. But, then again, it was a college sociology class, so that may explain a lot. Assignment? Deliberately do something counter to social mores, observe reactions of those around you, and write about it in your journal. One student – a middle-aged man with a large beer belly – went […]
Have you heard about how everything will be okay in this world once the Pope consecrates Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, as stated by Our Lady of Fatima? Have you heard the latest revelation from Medjugorje? Maybe you wonder what the person calling themselves Maria Divine Mercy is saying. One thing is for sure: We […]
When I visited a fertility clinic for diagnostic tests a few years back, the place was packed to the gills. The nervous energy pulsed through the air as women considered investing their savings for treatments. But this isn’t just another infertility story. This one includes a miracle from an obscure Medieval saint: St. Leopold of […]
Halloween is the only time of year when adults take seriously the idea of spending a night in public as someone or something different. Whatever their reasons (e.g. cultural tradition, social engagement, etc.), they seem to revel in stalking the streets in costumes and cosmetics that they wouldn’t normally where in order to score some […]
Not too long ago, I came across two seemingly different perspectives on the relationship between God’s action in our lives and our faithfulness. This question had been on my mind lately. After four years of infertility and now some roadblocks in the process of adoption, I’m starting to wonder “What gives?” I’m sure it’s a reflection […]
Liturgy is a lot like parenting. No. Liturgy IS parenting. Jesus Christ is the groom and His Church the bride. Together they have done a wonderful job of cosmically birthing a multitude of Christians. In an effort to raise their children to the heights of charitable virtue, they provided us with the rhythmic order of […]
A recurring theme of my writing and speaking these past few years has been the need for Catholics to overcome allegiances to political movements, parties, and ideologies. We are called to shape our culture, or at least be a prophetic voice that is unattached to purely temporal causes. My assumption, based on my own journey, […]
No matter how hard we seem to try, we cannot avoid silence altogether. We are obliged, for example, to deal with the natural silence that comes with sleep, sickness, death, and sorrow. We also find ourselves dealing with moments of everyday silence that come right after waking up, during the morning commute, on a lunch […]
Last week, I was asked to run commentary for the live stream of the Opening Ceremonies of the Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt’s Jubilee Year held in Vallendar, Germany but broadcast worldwide through the EWTN Studios in Birmingham, Alabama. Because the need had come up suddenly, there was little time to prepare. I had to shift […]
As the Year of Faith draws to a close, World Mission Sunday comes forward to help recharge our efforts to go forth and evangelize! So as we mark this yearly renewal, I’m seizing the occasion to revitalize the voice of one amazing catechist and missionary, Fr. John Anthony Hardon, S.J. You could say I’m doing a paper on a paper […]
“I’m delighted that Pope Francis has been garnering a great deal of news coverage,” Bishop David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck, ND said during a recent media day conference, “but his candor can be disarming to some. It is generating media coverage that often takes words out of context, then misleads people.” Kagan cautioned […]
“Hey Patti, I’m getting serious about praying for my family. I’m going to do a 40-day fast and daily rosary, do you want to join me?” My friend Shellie Rusch asked me this recently. She has six kids and we have a spiritual sisterhood in many ways. As a wife and mother of ten, I […]
Faith is not only the gift that enables us to know God intimately, but also the gift that enables us to act on that which we have come to believe and to understand. In other words, “faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him” (Porta Fidei, #10). This is […]
