It boils down to confession. Because when the confession lines grow short, sin prevails; first forgotten and then celebrated. Confession keeps us grounded in the truth, as we confront sin and root it out. Without it, we become blind to sin and begin to think and do stupid things. We knew that about Ireland, and […]
What’s your relationship to the Catholic Church? Are you devoted? Dedicated but doing the minimum required? Dabbling? Discouraged or done with the Church? Unsure? In All In (Ave Maria Press, 2017), Pat Gohn invites readers to reconsider their relationship with the Church, whatever that relationship might currently be. Gohn is a cradle Catholic, but truly […]
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 […]
In a recent post in his blog The Next Right Step, Charlie Johnston writes: “There is a lot of theological incoherence rising right now.” A few days ago I realized that a friend of mine — whose friendship I treasured since the time of my conversion — is into some form of Sedevacantism. This is hard to understand […]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I wish to continue our catechesis on the Church by reflecting on an image used by the early Fathers and the Second Vatican Council: the Church as our Mother. By reflecting on the human experience of maternity, we understand that the Church is like our own Mothers. First, like our […]
During his now-famous impromptu interview while returning to Rome from World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis declared the ordination of women a question settled definitively by Blessed Pope John Paul II, but suggested that women’s gifts might be used in other ways. His suggestion that a deeper “theology of women” might have […]
Pope Francis is contemplating a major reworking of the top-level administrative machinery of the Church. Commentators sometimes describe this as “reforming the Roman Curia,” but if the Pope’s own words–together with public and private proposals intended to influence the result–are any indication, the project could extend far beyond reshuffling dicasteries and straightening out the affairs […]
One day last summer, I received an email message from Nick, a man who works for the same company as me. I know him a little. I knew his wife, Michelle, better since she trained me in my job before she had her first baby and chose to be a stay-at-home mom. Nick had great news. […]
The nude photograph of Agnieszka Radwanska has caused quite a stir inside and outside of the Catholic Church. Agnieszka is the fourth ranked world tennis champ who posed naked for ESPN Magazine. When the photo went public – and viral – she was dropped from the Polish Catholic youth movement, Krucjata Mlodych (Youth Crusade), where […]
It was an astounding event. Truly remarkable, and clearly historical. Truth be told, I had never seen or experienced anything quite like it. It happened in one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in the United States. Indeed, in the world. The setting was most fitting. A magnificent cathedral with giant stained glass windows […]
Like many faithful Catholics, the resignation of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI left me feeling uncertain and deeply saddened. For a few days, I felt a little weepy and the wet, slushy weather fueled my winter blahs. With a heavy heart, I went to work each morning as a visiting nurse in the community. On one […]
Comments agitating for “women in the priesthood” are found throughout the media, voiced largely by outsiders to the Catholic Church, either non-Catholics or those who have willingly distanced themselves from the Church, so when I read this headline – “Exclusive: Women deserve bigger role in Church, says key cardinal” — my visceral reaction was negative. […]
Single men and women who living out faithful lives in the Church are often met with tension with regards to what it means to be seemingly vocationless or “in limbo”. Fortunately, there are a number of people in the Church (leaders, religious, priests, and single lay Catholics themselves) who are working tirelessly to address the […]
I was at a holy hour the other night, totally focused and immersed in my thoughts, when from the back of the church came the sound of a wailing toddler. Just like that, I lost it. I was completely distracted by some kid who was far too young to be stuck sitting in a church. […]
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism: All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better “get with it” and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women’s ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that […]
