We've been Spreading the Good News for more than 100 Years.
At a Mass I attended recently, the priest gave an interesting homily on Luke 12. He explained that, depending on our choices in life, God’s spiritual fire could either be cleansing or destructive. While this seemed reasonable, his comments about voting during this election season were debatable. He challenged the...
There’s an incomprehensible quality to empathy that only the soul can grasp. It carries us to a place where we forget ourselves and take up the cross of another to shoulder their burden of suffering for a while. In that holy realm where we embody another’s grief, those afflictions are...
The highest form of charity is that shown to those unable to reciprocate and perhaps even to thank us in return.—Pope Francis Long before immigrants, refugees, and migrants became the subjects of modern-day hot-button political debates, the Catholic Church addressed the question of whether people have the right to emigrate...
The Covid-19 virus has demonstrated an ability to transcend man-made boundaries and barriers that exist in our fragile global community. It reminds us of humanity’s interconnection; even at the same time we’re practicing “social distancing.” Prayer—especially during this Lenten season—also helps keep us interconnected through challenging times. The Redemptorists and...
Perhaps it is the presence of Valentine’s Day: February is widely recognized as the month in which people fall in love. (I know this was true for my late husband and me!) Love has many lessons. Some can only be learned in retrospect. I wrote this reflection for a beautiful...
Our new parish priest was lean but muscular, with silver hair juxtaposed against a leathery, sun-tanned face. Perched on the steps of the church rectory, his dark-as-polished-pinewood eyes squinted into the July sun as he watched me, Minuto, a lad of fifteen, pinch-faced and wiry, with strands of pitch-black hair...
The company that manages our electrical service called our parish one day. The agent said the company would do a free energy audit. The audit would produce a report detailing the ways we could save energy and lower our bill. The company also offered us energy-saving light bulbs, free. We’ve...
Alcoholism may be one of humanity’s oldest addictions. Wine and other intoxicating beverages—along with their potential to cause problems—have been with us since the development of agriculture. In the Book of Genesis, Noah—a good farmer—planted a vineyard. And, after harvesting grapes, he promptly “drank some of the wine, became drunk,...
In the tradition of the Church, we have many forms of liturgical prayers that honor Mary. Litanies, among the oldest forms of prayer, incorporate petitions and titles for God or a saint. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most well-known of this...
Have you ever been in a relationship—professional, personal, or familial—in which you felt as if you couldn’t do anything right? When faced with overbearing personalities who tend to critique/criticize every minute detail of my actions, I become hypersensitive. Nerves take over. Common sense flies out the window. I become so...
Though we’ve experienced much uncertainty recently—particularly in relation to the spread of the Coronavirus—when it comes to our faith, there is always one certainty. We can always come together in prayer. Prayer is possible so often…as we walk, as we shop, as we wash our hands, and even as we...
People tend to take things for granted. Americans in particular exhibit an orientation to life that can become so ingrained that it provides the lens through which we understand ourselves and evaluate others. If we fail to widen our focus, we risk becoming ethnocentric, a trait that can be positive...
A ton of turmoil abounds around the globe. From navigating the uncharted waters of the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, to the economic and social hardships the threat of the virus has wrought, to the numerous other challenges people face, many find it difficult, if not impossible, to attain...
June 27 is a special day during which we can especially celebrate a great source of consolation for so many. The annual feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help enables us to reflect on our veneration of our beloved icon. On this feast day, let us express our gratitude to...
Part 1: The Church in Crisis, Now and Then he Bible is an inexhaustible resource of spiritual insight and challenge. While the clerical sexual-abuse crisis has hung over the Church like a poisonous cloud, every problem poses an opportunity. “What can today’s Church, with its crises, learn from the Church...
According to my husband and others close to me, I have difficulty accepting or acknowledging if and when I need help. I admit there is more than a morsel of truth to my tendency to do it all myself. On too many occasions, I’ve gotten myself into jams because I...
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us the path to a better life on earth for the sake of our eternal life in heaven. His resurrection fulfills God’s promises and confirms Christ’s teachings and works. Do we believe in those promises or do we allow doubts to steer us from...
As we live out the mysteries of our faith during the approaching Easter season, the rosary offers a beautiful, meditative guide, inviting us to reconsider specific events and revisit familiar themes of salvation history. Journeying through Lent toward Easter, we have yearned to see Jesus rise triumphantly above a world...
One can be a lonely number. According to the US Health Resources and Services Administration, loneliness and social isolation can be as damaging to one’s health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. Contrary to what some might think, research shows suicide rates are highest in the spring and summer. Clearly...
Several months ago while sitting around the supper table, the youngest in our family blurted out what sounded like an innocent question: “What does ‘OK, boomer’ mean?” Everyone looked at one another bewildered, not even sure if we heard his question accurately. Then my middle daughter, who’s twenty-three, began to...
There is an indescribable mercy in the gospel that opens the hearts of broken people and draws them into a life devoted to reflecting the relentless grace of the crucified Savior to a lost and weary world. It is a mystery that conquers the most hardened, sinful soul and lifts...
We live in an environment fraught with tension, which has the potential to take a toll on our faith life. Our Blessed Mother has always walked with the people of God and shed light upon the signs of the times. Is there an image of Mary for our modern times...
Lately, I feel like I’ve been bombarded with requests to analyze my “former self.” You know, questions that ask: “Based on what you’ve learned, what advice would you give yourself at age twenty, thirty, forty, etc.” I have had many “relevations.” (Please don’t call out our editor; that’s an intentional...
Ideas Parishes Can Use to Server a Fast-Growing Population By Barbara Lee As a spiritual director with a ministry to the aging, I often hear two complaints from older men and women about parish life: First: “We’re left out. Parish activities focus on families and young people, most parish events...