One of my favorite saints, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Flower, often wrote of appearing before God with empty hands, both from the standpoint of having used all of the graces and opportunities to do good works but, also, perhaps, as an expression of intrinsic humility in that we can never fully do enough […]
By Maria Lozano NEW YORK—Venezuela was once the country of dreams—but those dreams have turned into nightmares. Such is the sad verdict of one of the country’s bishops. Case in point, Bishop Jaime Villarroel of the Diocese of Carúpano, told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need: Most of the young people in […]
Have you ever been so heartbroken and your hopes so shattered that you could scarcely consider what your future holds or whether you even had a future? That is what it must have been like for the disciples the day after Jesus was crucified. They had placed their faith in him and dared to hope […]
By Mark Riedemann TELSKUF, IRAQ (July 5, 2016)—It is the silence that you notice first. Not just a lack of noise but an absence of sounds. Even the birds have left. I am in Telskuf, Iraq, about 20 miles north of the Islamic State (ISIS) stronghold of Mosul and a mile and-a-half from the front […]
Some 22 years ago when I was being catechized, preparing to enter into the Church, I was much troubled by the Eucharistic phenomenon, transubstantiation. As a physicist, I could not understand how the wafer could become the flesh of Christ and the wine His Sacred Blood. The wise old priest who was instructing me asked: […]
As an observer of the human species, I believe I have discovered a new type. I call them “paid internet protesters,” or “PIPs” in internet-speak, who are all armchair culture warriors. Dr. Rachel Lu, a senior contributor at The Federalist, wrote an article called, “The LGBT Movement Will Self-Destruct.” My response was titled, “The LGBT […]
In a recent conversation, I mentioned to a friend that I had started writing a new book. He immediately seemed interested and asked about the subject. “Well,” I said, “it’s about how we’re all called to be saints and what that requires of us.” “I look at a lot of the qualities of saints and […]
It was five years ago. The memory is still in my mind.I entered my room to discover my five-year-old grandson looking up at a large crucifix on the wall above my bed. He turned and asked if that really happened. “Yes it did,” I replied. “Did Jesus die?” he asked, turning back to look at […]
By M.Z. de la Morena GYUMR?, Armenia—Sister Arousiag proudly points out the dormitory of the convent of Our Lady of Armenia here: it is where Pope Francis will rest for a few hours on the second day of his June 24-26, 2016 visit to Armenia. “It is the best room we have,” she assures a […]
Whenever I show anyone a picture of my beautiful, bouncing baby boy, inevitably one of the first three things they say is, “Oh my goodness, his eyelashes are so long!” (The other two are some variation of “Wow, he’s big!” and “He is so handsome!” I’m not biased—just reporting the facts.) It’s true, his eyelashes […]
The architects of a new world order often speak of a global village. Hillary Clinton tells us that it takes a village to raise a child. Are they speaking of the same village? If there is a benevolent global village then where is it and why is so much of humanity exiled from it? If the […]
By Eva-Maria Kolmann NEW YORK—An Indian prelate has described Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who will be canonized by Pope Francis Sept. 4, 2016, as the “best missionary of the millennium.” Bishop Salvadore Lobo of Baruipur, who headed the canonization committee, reported that Christ had said to Mother Teresa in a vision: “Go into the houses, […]
For me, the cliché “I can read you like a book,” means I understand a person very well, that I can tell what they’re thinking without having to ask. Indeed, we’re all living and breathing books. I have believed that since I began my professional writing career more than 30 years ago. Most of that […]
I fancy myself a Christian. I was baptized Catholic and have practiced the faith over fifty years. I’m convinced I will need a lifetime of practice to make any noteworthy progress. My love for the Lord is deep. Teaching, writing, and talking about God, His love for humanity, and the necessity to be authentic witnesses, […]
By Eva-Maria Kolmann NEW YORK—On June 1, thousands of Christian children of all denominations gathered in several Syrian cities to celebrate “International Children’s Day” as a day of prayer for peace. In Homs, the occasion marked the first public event held with children since the liberation of the city by the Syrian regime. Christian television […]
By Oliver Maksan NEW YORK—Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Armenia is boosting spirits and creating high expectations: “The Holy Father is coming to strengthen us Armenians in our faith. We Armenians, no matter whether Catholic or Orthodox, love him. After all, he recognized the genocide of our people. We will always remember him for that.” […]
Saint Anthony of Padua said: “Among all things that are lovable, there is one that is more lovable than the rest, and that most lovable thing is life.” Amen. It is in life that love and joy are possible, not death. The Apostle John tells us that Christ is source of life.[1] Christ came that […]
When God created us, He inserted a heart within our chest, the mechanism that He made to pump blood and oxygen throughout our bodies. We all have one. Most of us rarely take notice of its rhythmic beats. It’s there but we pay little or no conscious attention to it – much like many of […]
Two radically different strains of Americans emerged over the weekend in response to the Cincinnati Zoo killing a gorilla in order to save the life of a four year-old boy who tumbled into his enclosure. After viewing videos of the gorilla dragging the boy haplessly through the water at great speed, and climbing with the […]
By Eva-Maria Kolmann NEW YORK—A bishop from Malawi has expressed concern about the growing trend towards Islamization in his Mangochi Diocese, in the south of the country. Speaking with international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Stima Monfort stressed that traditional Islam in Malawi has been moderate and that Christians and Muslims […]
I dreamt of sailing a grand tall ship. Initially gentle billows swelled beneath her massive hull. Gradually the wind began to pick up and filled the ship’s enormous sails. Silently the large ship started to move as though being pushed by an invisible hand. At first, the bow gently sliced through the water as we […]
Find a Real Friend in Jesus: Ten Amazingly Easy Steps by Gary Zimak could as easily have been titled “The Catholic Guide to a Personal Relationship with Jesus.” Catholics often think of a personal relationship with Jesus as a Protestant idea, but Jesus wants to be close to all of us and not just in […]
The most terrifying aspect of living out Catholic sexuality is that it requires us to unflinchingly kill an entire world of potentials. In this world of dreamers, it can be very difficult to commit oneself to a given way of life simply because it entails giving up all other ways of life. It can be […]
William Shakespeare famously wrote “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” and so it is with us. Each of us “performs” each day on the world’s stage before the spectacle of our fellow man and before the saints and angels in heaven, under the watchful eyes of God. We […]
