Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Wisdom 11:22–12:2; Psalm 145:1-2,8-11,13-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11–2:2; Luke 19:1-10) Loving Others as Jesus Has Loved You He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner. (Luke 19:7) When Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, he made it clear that it […]
This is so horrific and evil that it almost defies reason. Officials have rescued a girl from Somalia that was brought to the UK to harvest her organs. They are sure that this is not an isolated incidence. The Telegraph has the story: The unnamed girl was brought to the UK from Somalia with the […]
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 […]
The first ever hospice in Russia for children with terminal illnesses is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The project was started by the Russian Orthodox priest Aleksandr Tkachenko, who came recently to visit the international headquarters of the Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in the town of Königstein, near […]
The family founded on marriage is the “natural center of human life” and protecting children and elderly people is a “choice of civilization,” Pope Francis said in an address Friday morning. Speaking to the 21 plenary meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the pope said, “Children and the elderly represent the two poles […]
The Archdiocese of New York has published three handy booklets for parents, providing suggestions and examples on how to talk to their kids about the gift and responsibility of human sexuality. Each booklet focuses on a particular age group: primary grades, middle schoolers and teens. Fathers for Good spoke to Kimberly Quatela, chastity education coordinator […]
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 […]
I remember during my dating days wanting to start a Bible study with a girl I was dating. She liked the idea, but asked “which commentary are we going to use in studying the Bible?” Puzzled, I said we wouldn’t be. We would just talk over the phone/in person about various Bible verses, what they […]
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 […]
There can be a fine line between loneliness and solitude. In solitude, there is a quiet joy — time spent by yourself in nature or at eucharistic adoration, an opportunity for contemplation and prayer and just basking in a peaceful presence. I love solitude. Like so many, however, I dread loneliness. And unfortunately, I have […]
One of the most hotly-contested passages in Catholic-Protestant dialogues is the “Upon This Rock” passage in Matthew 16:18. After the Apostle Simon confesses faith in Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ), Jesus says to him “And I tell you, you are Peter, [Petros] and on this rock [petra] I will build my church, and the powers of death [Hades] shall not prevail […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Sirach 35:12-14,16-18; Psalm 34:2-3,17-19,23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14) Living a Life Grounded in Godly Humility The one who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:14) Self-confidence is a virtue in business, in our families, and in our parishes. Think about St. Paul. He was very confident […]
The following interview/discussion took place between Abdallah and me from October 6-8, 2013. Abdallah is my Facebook friend from Cairo, Egypt. He is a software engineer and a supporter of the restoration of President Morsi. We met via the chat feature of an online chess program. (Published with Abdallah’s approval). Abdallah: Many times I keep […]
According to Statistics Canada, the years between 2010 and 2031 will see an accelerated rate in the aging population since this is the period when all baby boomers will have turned sixty-five. By the year 2036, between twenty-three per cent and twenty-five percent of the population will comprise of seniors aged sixty-five and over. The […]
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 […]
Light of Love is a new 60-minute documentary by Imagine Sisters. What, you ask, is “Imagine Sisters”? And whatever “Imagine Sisters” is, isn’t it bad syntax? “Imagine Sisters” is a movement (begun by Chicago seminarians—out of the goodness of their hearts and under the patronage of St. Therese) to encourage women’s religious vocations. “Imagine Sisters” […]
In two weeks we celebrate Halloween— and, as you may have noticed, many of our Evangelical friends now shun America’s October spook festival altogether. They tell their children that Halloween is “the devil’s holiday” and that trick-or-treating is little better than dabbling with a Ouija board or consulting an astrologer. Contemplating the Idea of Death Though […]
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 […]
In our attempts as Catholics to convince the wider world of the reasonableness and truth of Christian belief, we are often accused of being more adamant about what we are against than what we are for. The dustup over Pope Francis’ recent interview1 illustrates clearly how this is the case. Amidst the rush to come […]
Do you bring Christ to your workplace? If you work for a faith-based organization, the answer to that question may be an easy “yes.” However, the vast majority of Catholics and Christians work in secular institutions. What happens then? Should Christians leave their faith behind when they enter the office door. In Hope for the […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121:1-8; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:2; Luke 18:1-8) Saying Yes to God’s Plan and Mission for Your Life … so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17) Imagine that you wake up one morning to find […]
