A good book is often the best tonic for when you are feeling down! We asked our Catholic-Link authors what their favorite book is when they need cheering up. Here are eight suggestions that you might like to try out next time you’re having a rainy day! Curl up with a...
Poor Oedipus. If you don’t know the classic story of the king who accidentally married his mother and blinds himself, I’d be surprised. Many deep ponderings can be taken out of this story about fate, truth, control, and free will, but what about that self-blinding?...
Gospel of the Luke 3: 10-18 The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they...
"We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness,...
The Good Lie is an eye opening, inspiring and heartwarming film based on the true stories of some of "The Lost Boys" of Sudan. From the years 1983 to 2005 over 20,000 boys were orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War. This film does an excellent job of...
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have...
Do you remember February 13, 2015? On this day, 21 Coptic Christians were martyred for their faith by ISIS. This event has been depicted in a sacred icon by the artist Nikola Sarić . Our experience of icons can often be synonymous with historic events that seem...
“What this world needs is a little wonder!” There are so many themes that can be unpacked from the short film, The Butterfly Circus, that it is hard to know where to begin, but maybe beginning with wonder is a start. Set in the era of the Great Depression, this short...
I’ll admit it - it can be annoying to watch a movie with me. As soon as the movie begins, I try to figure out who the bad guy is or what the twist will be. If I do say so myself, I happen to get it right a lot of the time. It isn’t the most awful habit to have, but...
Caroline’s teacher, Mrs. Tranel, shared: She came after Easter and set it on my desk saying, "Read it if you want." I kind of forgot it and then one day discovered it under a pile on my desk. Parts of it took my breath away. I knew I needed to do something...
“Love is coming after you... An army comes, an army of martyrs. They carry a message of life. They are a people of the Cross. They come to die at your gates. There is forgiveness tonight brother…” These are words that no man could never speak if God himself did...
“At times you may feel disappointed, discouraged, abandoned by all, but God does not forget his children, He never abandons them! […] Even in the midst of so many problems, even serious ones, let us not lose our hope in the infinite mercy of God and in His...
A few days ago I finished reading “Inner Peace” by Jacques Philippe. It is a brief spiritual book written in a simple language and filled with beautiful teachings about cultivating spiritual peace in our Christian life. The book goes over several actions and...
Myriam is an Iraqi Christian whose family had to flee their home near Mosul when ISIS took control of their town in mid-2014. They fled to Irbil, a safer area of the autonomous region of Kurdistan where they live as refugees. She told her story to Essam Nagy, the...
Thanks be to God, the apostolate that we do at Catholic-Link (CL) doesn’t only take place at a desk, sifting through resources and commenting on videos. If the online resources and our commentaries serve in any way to lead others to God, it is because we ourselves...
Back in 1990, Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) spoke to a group about the Christian life and the good Samaritan. The title of the text was based on Isaiah 58:7 “Do not disregard those of your own flesh”. The message is clear: you can’t pretend to live your faith if you...
When we think of the martyrs like Saint Valentine, what do we imagine? Probably the cruel scene of his death or the torture that he endured. This is an important part no doubt. It’s a sign of what he was willing to endure for his beliefs. But there’s a danger here: we...
Meet Jared Axen, Los Angeles’ “singing” nurse whose voice began to catch the attention of his patients when he was putting together their daily medications. He makes his daily tasks an act of love; even something as simple as changing his patients’ medication turns...
Lately I’ve been a bit jaded about sports, even as someone who grew up playing all kinds, and enjoying them as both a participant and a spectator. I’ve found myself thinking that all sports are on steroids these days (literally and figuratively speaking), and...
How powerful is forgiveness? How far can God’s mercy reach? Are we called to forgive what seems to be unforgivable? Gary Ridgway was an American serial killer who was known as the Green River Killer. He was convicted of 49 murders but later confessed to nearly double...
One year, Jill had her Advent, and her whole life flipped upside down. Awaiting Christmas and the birth of her first child, Jill's excitement was shattered by an unexpected diagnosis. Jill found God in a new way through this experience and shares how surprising...
Dr. Peter Kreeft, a philosophy professor at Boston College, does an incredible job explaining how both God and Suffering can exist in this brief video. In just a few minutes, Dr. Kreeft successfully refutes many of the arguments that atheists often use when they...
t is important to clarify that as Catholics we don't publish such things with a some sort of masochist spirit. The various challenging and painful situations that people go through are not in themselves good things, just the opposite. Yet, as...
Today's video illustrates an all too common reality. To the question, "What's on your mind?" so few really answer with the truth. Losers are unpopular. Suffering doesn't fetch “likes." So why not just lie? What's the use in sharing these things if no one wants to hear...
It is an experience that we live every day. Sometimes we are happy, sometimes we are sad. What to do? What to think? All of us desire happiness. We live for it and without it we would die. It is the reason we wake up every morning, even when we aren't aware of it or...
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Tip: These make amazing Catholic Christmas Gifts too!
