“You did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time” (Luke 1:20). Faith assures us that anything is possible with God, and The Catechism teaches us that, “God, who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God’s power is loving, for He is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith […]
Trust is an intrinsic part of the human psyche, though it’s resolve can sometimes seem almost irrational. It was trust in God that brought Columbus to discover the New World. The same could be said about the many pioneers who ventured out in wagons to cross the great prairies in the 19th century. In that […]
Frequently, when I speak to groups about death and dying, people will share their own stories of loss. At a recent event, a woman came up to me with tears running down her face, to talk about her daughter who had died by suicide. She had been raised as a Catholic, with the idea that […]
Mothers make great sacrifices for their children, that is widely known. That they are often the gateway to sainthood perhaps less so, and yet, behind every great saint (to steal a phrase), is likely to be an attentive mother. Fr. Christy David Pathiala would probably agree. He speaks of his own mother with great reverence, […]
In relation to boys, girls have always had a very short childhood, inversely proportional to the wealth of the family. Two thousand years ago in Palestine they were hardly off the breast before they were expected to conform to strict behavior patterns. Little girls grew in the knowledge that they were second class citizens, forever […]
As we’re now in the Easter season and summer is just around the corner, I want to strongly encourage all of you to sign yourselves up for a silent retreat this year. Yep, just look at your summer calendars, and do it. Unfortunately for me, I’ll have to wait until my latest baby is done […]
To the secular world, our celebration of Easter Sunday is an odd event. In their eyes, we celebrate a corpse rising from the dead, and they really can’t figure out why.
Today is Good Friday. Now I know that I ought to be focused on the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and I am, but I am also a mother. Therefore, I must plan ahead for my family accordingly. And this entails preparing any necessary music that my family will want to sing and listen […]
These days of the Paschal Triduum are a very special time. For me, they are not an easy time, but they are a wondrous time. They are full of traditions…traditions common to the Church throughout the world, traditions I brought from home, and traditions I have developed personally during my time here at St. Anne’s. […]
“You’d better take down your article,” I was advised in an email. “The Blessed Mother has warned that anyone who interferes with her message will suffer consequences.” Ah the joy of writing about condemned apparitions. The article being referred to was five years old. The odds of me taking down an article I had carefully […]
Meeting a Future Saint In the 80s, my husband Cliff, a news photographer and reporter, accompanied Bismarck, ND Catholic Bishop John Kinney to Rome to record his five-year Ad-Limina visit, which is an obligation of church hierarchy to visit the tombs of the apostles, and to meet with the pope, in this case, Pope John […]
There’s a famous story in St. Augustine’s Confessions in which he and a group of youngsters looking for mischief steal pears, just for the thrill of the theft: We carried off a huge load of pears, not to eat ourselves, but to dump out to the hogs, after barely tasting some of them ourselves. Doing this […]
My husband is hard to shop for. He has simple tastes and knows what he likes. Over the years I have tried and tried to find the perfect gift he would really love and use. I’ve attempted to be clever, tapping into his interests, hoping to come up with something he would enjoy. I have […]
The Rev. Billy Graham had a simple message–give your life to Jesus. And that’s exactly what he did. He may have counseled presidents, he may have been the first religious leader to lie in state in the nation’s Capitol, he may have founded a media dynasty, but he always knew who he was. In many […]
Anyone want a good conscience-stinger for Lent? Recently I just reread Thomas Dubay’s Happy Are You Poor. And my conscience was stung. I have too much stuff, and my children have too much stuff. And this stuff gets in the way of knowing Jesus. And it’s time to clean house and make space for Him. Now as […]
Hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist threats, mass shootings – if you watch the news these days you could be tempted to go hide under the bed. These events bring on talk of the end times that we are warned about in the New Testament. The apostles expected Jesus to return at any moment, though He told them […]
Sober up, people! How are you going to prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The 3 Pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, & Almsgiving Prayer If you’re not already setting aside a specific time every day to pray, you need to. I am the mother of six little children. If I can do […]
What is February 2nd known for? In secular society, it’s ‘Groundhog’s Day.’ While there’s nothing wrong with remembering this little rodent and speculating on whether or not he’ll see his silhouette created by the sun, I’d invite us to go a little deeper. While the sun is a beautiful thing, and certainly necessary for life, […]
When one looks at the liturgical calendar, one sees a message the Church is attempting to instill within us. Right after we erupt with jubilation over the birth of Christ, we meditate over the first martyr, St. Stephen. He reminds us that this joy has a price, and that price is higher than we could […]
Padre Pio and an Exorcist Talk About Angels While many of us have felt our angel’s presence at times or at least trust that he’s there, what do all the guardian angels do when people turn from God? Are they still on guard? During an interview with Father Patrick, (not his real name) an exorcist […]
As I age and have more life behind me than in front of me, I find myself in my deepest emotional hurts identifying most intensely with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here is the woman who in her own Earthly life experienced so much suffering through her fiat. God designed woman in a particularly ingenious way […]
This title is from the first lines of a poem/prayer I first heard from my Mom as a little boy. This is more an invitation than an article for readers. Please speak your thoughts in comments below about how Mary, today, would teach us how to pray. Imagine if it were possible – Our Lady […]
In general, people are born into certain groups based on their personal, social, and cultural surroundings. They also voluntarily join groups based on shared occupations, beliefs, or interests. Membership in these groups influences how people think of themselves and how others think of them. (Science for All Americans, pp. 91–93). We do not choose our […]
We can all relate to Jonah at times. We want people to get what is coming to them, good or bad- mostly bad- especially if they have hurt us. In this case Jonah wanted Nineveh to fry for the ill-treatment of his people. We’re told in Scripture that “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry […]
