Catholic. Pastoral. Trusted.
Excitement for the World Meeting of Families has been building on the East Coast since 2012, when Pope Benedict XVI announced to a million Mass-goers at the seventh such meeting in Milan, Italy, that Philadelphia would be the site of the next meeting. When Catholics in the City of Brotherly...
By: Andrew L. Minto, PhD Patiently?” she asked. “Yes,” I replied, “the virtue of patience is how one bears the wrongs that have been done to us.” “So if I am being patient, then what am I waiting for? What is supposed to happen when you are patient? And why...
Editor Elizabeth Herzing interviews artist Bert VanderMark about his work Visual Parables and its connection with faith. Q. What is your background as an artist, and what motivates you to reach out to others through art? I was born and raised in the Netherlands. My grandfather was an amateur painter. In my...
By Ronica Stromberg That day I had been attacked by a pack of rabid wolves, held at gunpoint by a mad cowboy, stabbed by a samurai, and dive-bombed by a deranged dictator. I couldn’t be more bored. I tossed aside my game controller and said to Sam and Liz, “Let’s...
By Lisa Grey As a child, I loved playing “mommy” to my dolls. I couldn’t wait to grow up and have my own children. Years later, my dreams of being a mom became tarnished. It happened when I realized that I found my eldest stepchild to be, well, challenging to...
The World Meeting of Families will occur September 22–27 in Philadelphia. As the preparations continue, it is important to reflect on the importance of family life. We pass on traditions that give our lives special meaning in our families. The signs and symbols that have meaning in our families form...
Over the last few months at Liguori Publications, we’ve been developing a new parish program designed to help couples prepare for the sacrament of marriage. The program includes a video of interviews with couples. Some have been married a couple of years, some for decades. In each interview, the husband...
It’s sometimes hard to measure up to the expectations we place on ourselves, let alone those of others. No day or hour goes by without our feeling the guilt of inadequacy. It seems we feel we never do enough and what we do is never done well enough. Generally the...
…Of fried-egg sandwiches, Dad’s relationship with his maker, and other treasured memories of childhood. It’s funny how different people and events influence our lives. One of my earliest memories is going fishing with my dad when I was about six years old and being exposed to the grandeur and glory...
He picked a great time of year to fish—a warm day in late fall. But could he tackle the real catch of the day? “OK, we’re done here. Thank you, all. ” As soon as the vice president left the room, the others followed like ducklings. Tom turned to Rob...
The month of May is significant. It is the month in which Mother’s Day is celebrated. It is the month of graduations. And, for Catholics, it is the month of Mary. For me, this May holds special significance, as it is the month in which my youngest child graduates from...
Do your children listen to you? Are they obedient? Are they respectful? Do they understand the role and meaning of authority? Do they know their place in the family? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you might want to review what your children watch on TV. It...
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart (Luke 2:19). The most familiar translation of that verse invokes the word treasured: Mary treasured these things and pondered on them in her heart. It’s a particularly poignant phrase because it resonates in the human experience. No doubt...
Our Blessed Mother has many titles. One of the most honored is Our Mother of Perpetual Help. This title is associated with the icon that was given to the Redemptorists by Pope Pius IX when he requested the Redemptorist Missionaries to make her known. As a Redemptorist, this icon is...
Mary is our focus in this edition, with a special emphasis on her representation in the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. As you may know, Liguorian and Liguori Publications are named after St. Alphonsus Liguori, a doctor of the Church and founder of the Congregation of the Most...
The Icon In May, the month of Mary, parishes hold special devotions and processions. A special procession inRome with the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help on April 26, 1866, marked the return of that image for public veneration. During the procession, the miraculous icon of Holy Mary of...
She’s Doing What!? A mother and her youngest daughter wrote out the Ten Commandments and posted them in their home. Not long after, the youngest reported that her older sister was sinning. The mother asked why, and she replied, “She is committing adultery.” Later, the parents had a private conversation...
Thanks to one statement in Fr. Dennis J. Billy’s article (March 2015), I can admit during the time that I was a nonpracticing Catholic, my experience of “foretasting of heaven” started. My first “intense experience of the divine” was in 2002, when I was driven to my heavenly home by...
Sidebar by Sarah Reinhard Lent is the time of year I love to hate. It’s all too easy for Lenten practices to turn into big, impossible jobs. And yet, after the overload of Christmas, there’s something about the spartan that’s appealing. The three pillars of Lent are fasting, almsgiving, and...
Christ is risen! Alleluia! Easter is the greatest celebration in our liturgical calendar. The first Easter was the day when the Lord rose triumphantly from the grave. It was the day when hope was restored, faith was renewed, and charity prevailed. The tomb was empty, and death lost her age-old...