Full of Grace In the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear that the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be the Mother of God. The Angel Gabriel greets Mary with a strange greeting. The angel says, recorded in the Greek, “Chaire, Kecharitomene… (Lk. 1:38).” St. Jerome...
These days, we all need a little extra help finding our brave. Teach your children that when fear surrounds us, we can look to the Word of God to find our strength. Pray these scripture verses together as a family and work together to memorize them. 8 Bible Verses...
Captain America: The First Avenger - Almost a decade has past since we first saw this origin story, and I still find myself getting inspired. This movie not only gives us hope that there is a hero we can count on, but it also calls us on to be that hero people can...
Having a bad day? They happen. Sometimes more frequently than we want them to. However, no one is or should choose to be defined by their bad days. Rather, they should be defined by their Christian perseverance in faith, hope, and charity through difficult moments....
Volunteering is incredibly beneficial to our spiritual growth. Serving in the community provides opportunities to focus on the needs of others, challenges us in new ways, develops virtues, and encourages us to pray more. But, once you become a mom, isn't your family...
The Virtue of Justice Before we can begin to understand patriotism as a virtue, we have to first look to the broader virtue of piety. And before we can begin to understand piety, we have to understand the broader cardinal virtue of justice. The word “cardinal” comes...
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, mountain-enthusiast, student, fun-lover and passionate Catholic, was born in Italy in 1901 and died when he was only 24. Born to a wealthy family, he used his privileged position to secretly support the poor. For all intents and...
Five years ago today, a group of three seminarians and two lay students in Rome started a podcast... What does that have to do with anything? Well, that podcast grew and grew and eventually became what is today, Catholic CAST Media, the organization that now owns and...
The renewal of the sacred liturgy continues apace – and for Jesse Weiler, director of the Liturgical Institute at St. Mary of the Lake University, Mundelein, IL, there’s no reason that renewal can’t take place – and even flourish – online. The Liturgical Institute...
"The road may not be the direct route you were hoping for, but direct routes are rarely fulfilling or transformative. God thinks too highly of you to rush the divine work he is doing in your life." Read the full letter here. Use this video to start discussion with the...
“After a lot of thought and it was a very hard decision, unfortunately, we have to make you redundant.” Those are words that rank up there with “you’ve tested positive for coronavirus” that no person wants to hear. A second virus is now raging a war on us and that is...
Three years ago, today, I published a blog about my personal struggle with pornography. Before that day, I had never spoken openly about porn, it was very much a secret problem that had been eating me up for years. More than anything else I have ever written, I look...
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Great beginnings, like those opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities, are more memorable than most endings. Because when we open the first page of a novel or watch the curtain rise on a play, we are charged with...
You are missed. In his magnificent biography of Saint John Paul II, George Weigel writes that to Father Karol Wojtyła, “a priest without a parish was a vocational absurdity.” A priest is ordained to be a man for others, “to go from men to God and offer Him their...
Welcome back to the podcast! Congratulations to Alanna for finishing her Masters! Our topic this week is leadership, and how we can find the points needed from the scriptures this week. We have to understand that there are multiple levels of leadership like the...
Sometimes I think Jesus gives us too much credit. This past Sunday's Gospel reading, on what is often known as Good Shepherd Sunday, makes what I consider a big assumption. ". . . [T]he sheep follow [the shepherd], because they recognize his voice. But they will not...
As we move beyond our time of sheltering in place, how are we going to make the most of these past few weeks? What are we going to do to ensure that quarantine was not a waste? There is an image floating around on social media of an open refrigerator door, with a note...
It’s a running joke that since the pandemic started, our pairs of jeans haven’t seen the light of day. In fact, we may not even have gotten out of pajamas before schooling children, working remotely, and keeping up with a house when everyone is always home. It’s...
We pray for the children… Who wake up early and eat the entire box of cereal, Who sleep in until noon, Who wear their pajamas ALL.DAY.LONG. And we pray for the those, Who wake up hungry, but can’t find any food in the house, Who sleep on the floor in a crowded room,...
There are no limits to the many wonderful things that a Catholic could have in their home. This list is simply six suggestions of things that Catholic homes should try to have on hand. Enjoy! 6 Things Catholics Should Have In Their Homes A Crucifix The symbol of the...
I wish I had always known God’s loving tenderness. I have been a Catholic all my life but it was only a year ago that I discovered a God who loves us with such magnitude that not only is He powerful, He is also tender, as a terrified new father, who stands in by the...
With all the evil and suffering in the world, how does the less than twenty hours of the Passion of our Lord atone for all of the evil of human history? Many new Christians hear the saving message that Christ died to save them upon the Cross. But, how exactly does...
For anyone old enough to remember when the movie Dead Man Walking was released in 1995, they might recall how it became a defining moment in the American consciousness around the issue of capital punishment. Sr. Helen Prejean's story of faith and accompaniment on...
As we navigate through the Coronavirus and the seemingly unending strain of directives and regulations released by the Church and government agencies, we pray for and await good health and healing in all the world. In most dioceses, the latest is: Closed and locked...
The world will never be the same again after the Covid-19 pandemic finally ends (whenever that may be!). Every generation faces at least one mega-crisis that forever changes the way the world operates. In my lifetime so far, it had been the events on 9/11 and the 2008...
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Tip: These make amazing Catholic Christmas Gifts too!