Catholic. Pastoral. Trusted.
Ideas like morality, relationships, hope, and love are hard to understand and sometimes even harder to live out in a Christian way. What can we use to help us when choices are tough, answers vague, and the future uncertain? The roots of Catholic social teaching offer some simple ideas that,...
This month’s issue is about discernment—a difficult concept. Our best choices sometimes come only after prayerful contemplation. Fr. Mark Haydu, the international coordinator of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, finds inspiration in art. His new book, Meditations on Vatican Art, offers readers a doorway to the beauty...
November 2013 My father was a great storyteller. Over dinner, he would acquaint us with distant ancestors we knew only from old photographs and bad paintings. Before bed, he would make biblical stories truly come alive. And on saints’ days, he would regale us with their famed deeds. These stories...
November 2013 "Has technology made us disengaged?" Years ago I stopped wearing a watch; a watch hanging on my wrist annoys me. As a result, I often ask people for the time. I stop someone, ask the question, look them in the eye, and listen carefully to their response. I...
November 2013 "The lives of those we encounter offer a potent example for us to live by." Shortly after the birth of my second child, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome in the delivery room, my husband and I received a letter. It was written by a man from our...
Prayer: Our Deepest Longing Ronald Rolheiser Franciscan Media $8.99 Those who pray can too often be dissatisfied with, even judgmental, of their practice. We believe we need to say correct words, assume a particular posture, or show God a certain face. And so we struggle with what is meant to...
Fr. Lewandowski’s wonderful article “Beyond Gun Control” (July-August 2013) offers a clear answer to all the world’s problems. Wow! If people could follow these simple instructions and control themselves, the world would be a safer and happier place. I’ve never read anything more inspirational—not a book but just a one-page...
November 2013 The passing of a loved one into eternity is always a very difficult process for those who remain in this temporal world. We know everyone must die, but no matter how well prepared we might feel we are, we are bound to experience a sense of loss. Our...
November 2013 A dusty eight-inch knight in armor stands guard on my desk, holding a letter-opener lance in his gauntleted hands. Years ago, he stood watch on my father’s desk. Next to the knight sits a well-worn prayer book, stuffed prayer and holy cards, that belonged to my mother. I...
Bishop Rice Notes Redemptorists’ Local Contributions and Says Magazine Continues the New Evangelization
Keynote Speaker Margaret O’Brien Steinfels Calls on Catholic Media to Meet “Challenging Demographics”
Liguori, Mo. (Oct. 16, 2013) – A Catholic publication that started with $50 in capital marked its 100th anniversary Wednesday with a look to the future that included a new blog aimed at Catholics who don’t go to church.
Liguorian, a magazine widely known among American Catholics, marked the centennial of its founding with a celebratory Mass and banquet at St. Francis Xavier Church and Ballroom at St. Louis University. Liguori Publications, publisher of Liguorian and a ministry of the Redemptorists, was joined by the order’s priests and brothers, as well as its authors, business partners, and friends
Timothy Matovina Many parishes and dioceses tend to focus on the challenges presented by the growing Hispanic presence. This is not surprising; a previous influx of Catholic newcomers to the United States was met with a similar attitude. Yet in the 2002 document Encuentro and Mission: A Renewed Pastoral Framework...
October 2013
Meditation
My nephew died four years ago. He had just turned 19 and was co-captain of his high school wrestling team. He was jogging before a track meet one afternoon when a teammate drove up behind him. Horseplay. An accident. A tragedy.
Frankie was also my godson. Every year on his birthday, I visit his gravesite and release a helium balloon. I stand there watching it until it’s out of sight. I like to think it’s going up to Frankie in heaven and not headed for the trees in the next town. It’s my quiet way of remembrance. It does more for me, to soothe my soul, than it does for Frankie, who probably has no need of earthly gestures.
October 2013 Many years ago, I managed a rental store in Northern Florida. At the end of each day, I would create a “to do list” of the many things I wanted to achieve the following day. Each morning, however, the owner of the company would hand me a list...
October 2013 When I was a kid at Mass, crammed into a pew at Christ the King Church with my parents, my aunt, and my three siblings, I sometimes fidgeted. My mind wandered to lunch or my itchy church clothes or something else I wanted to be doing. Usually, one...
In the April 2013 Letters to the Editor, a reader took exception to the article “Luke and the Path to Christian Discipleship” (January): She said, “Eucharist is a communal act and should not become a purely private devotion.” I can identify with her feelings as well as the viewpoint of...
October 2013 "We live in a messy world in which clear-cut answers are hard to come by." I don’t know about you, but I find the word discernment a little intimidating. It’s my responsibility as a Christian to do God’s will, but figuring out what that means in every situation...
September 2013 Dear Liguorian Readers, If you’ve already read Virgil Tipton’s column, you know that change is once again in the air at Liguori Publications. As my assignment as president and publisher drew to a close, Liguori’s board of directors set out to find new leadership. Their choices are a...
Rebuilt Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, Making Church Matter Michael White and Tom Corcoran, foreword by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan Ave Maria Press $16.95 In this inspiring, humorous, and practical book Fr. Michael White, pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, and Tom Corcoran, pastoral associate,...
“Dad, I’m going to have to exercise your angel.” “My roommate asked why I believe there’s something out there,” Zinn recalls. “He said, ‘What if there isn’t?’ and I said, ‘Then so be it. But what if there is?’ ” As Smith listened to the snores of thirty men sleeping in...
September 2013 Muchas parroquias y diócesis tienden a centrarse en el desafío que representa la creciente presencia hispana. No es de sorprenderse; previamente una oleada de católicos que llegaban a Estados Unidos fue recibida con igual actitud. Sin embargo, ya en el 2002 el documento Encuentro y misión: un marco...