One of the best ways to enrich your spiritual life is to pray with scripture and meditate on its application to your own life. Enjoy this free Catholic Bible Study that will enrich your spiritual reading! A great way of doing this is using the technique of...
Purgatory is one doctrine that gets a lot of criticism from non-Catholic Christians, and confuses Catholics too. What's the deal with it?! Why do we need it, and where did it come from? This excellent video from Fr. Mike Schmitz at Ascension Presents cuts through the...
The fact that these Franciscan Friars of the Renewal aren't trying to be cool makes the many different things they do even cooler. From basketball to cooking, these Friars have found creative ways to engage the culture and it's working. Their YouTube videos have...
One of the best ways to enrich your experience at Sunday Mass is to pray the Mass Readings personally and to meditate on a Gospel reflection. A great way of doing this is using the technique of Lectio Divina, a powerful method which we explain here. The following is...
It’s no secret in the Catholic world that Bishop Robert Barron produces excellent videos on many pertinent topics. As a theologian and author, Bishop Robert Barron covers a wide range of topics in his "brief and insightful commentaries." Movies, books, politics both...
Most nights, although I'm exhausted at the end of the day, before I can fall asleep I stay awake thinking of all the things that I could have done differently as a mom. I replay the day in my head and inevitably hear the harsh sound of my own voice reprimanding...
After my meeting I walked back to my office feeling small and overlooked. At my place of work the wheels above me had turned and I had been told that I was not going to be consulted on some decisions which closely affected my job. It felt that whether I threw myself...
Last week Catholic-Link published an article about Esmeralda Solís Gonzáles, a young woman who left behind her life as a beauty queen in Mexico to pursue a religious vocation with the Poor Clare Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament. Today, we have another inspiring...
One of the best ways to enrich your experience at Sunday Mass is to pray the Gospel Reading personally. A great way of doing this is using the technique of Lectio Divina, a powerful method which we explain here. The following is the Sunday Gospel reading with a...
Did you know there's a 400 year-old, worldwide, supernatural fellowship (spanning heaven and earth!) for the cause of safeguarding, healing and spreading the virtue of purity? What's more, did you know that it still exists? Did you know you can join it? The Angelic...
Are you familiar with that feeling of dread when it comes to talking to others about Jesus Christ? Do you strive to love Christ with your whole heart and follow Him with all your will, but wish you weren't so weak when it comes to witnessing to Him in conversations...
“You mustn't be afraid. If God is calling you, he'll take care of everything. All you need to do is receive him with a lot of peace, joy, and confidence. I believe fear is a big excuse that is responsible for truncating the true happiness that only God can offer,”...
Whether one would admit it or not, every person has preconceived notions or opinions on any given situation. These can be brought about through one’s education or just by their life experiences. How one allows those experiences affect how they relate to those around...
Have you ever wondered why the Catholic Church is structured in a hierarchical form? Or, what makes the difference between a deacon and a priest? Or how our local parishes fit into the global relationship of the Church? Each member of the Church has an equally...
The Pope Francis TED talk is trending all over the news today. Filmed at the Vatican, the talk debuted during TED's international conference in Vancouver on Tuesday night. It was a surprise for all who attended. Media coverage from CNN to the Huffington Post has been...
I know, I know, the title is not encouraging, but let me explain to you why I think it correctly responds to the reality that I want to explore. We are living in a very difficult time for the Church, a time of pain and embarrassment due to various types of scandals:...
Life is a unique movement of light where the beginning and the end meet. Just as we are born from our mother’s womb into earthly life, so too, we’ll be born from the Earth’s womb into eternal life. The impulse that assures the completeness of such movement is the...
I sometimes think that Lent is a little easier to live out than Eastertide is, perhaps because we are so much more familiar with suffering than we are with joy. We’ve all experienced suffering, probably more than we wanted to, but joy doesn’t seem to be as obvious in...
This is a matter we seldom talk about with clarity, I don’t know exactly why. My impression is that we talk a lot about sin in an abstract way, or using an academic-theological terminology that the common Christian doesn’t always understand. Nevertheless, we are...
The lives of the saints provide us rich, beautiful sources of instruction in virtue. But there's a particular heroism to be gleaned from stories of the martyrs. Today we present 15 saints - some well known, others, more obscure, but all are admirable for a common...
Jesus comes to Peter to wash his feet. Peter says to him, "Lord, do you want to wash my feet?" Jesus answers, "What I am doing you do not know now but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not...
Good Friday is the most solemn day of the year for Christians. This is the day when we remember Christ's death on the cross for us. We remember the suffering He endured for our sake. We are reminded of the depths of His love for us. Do not let Good Friday go by as...
In this Lenten series and Catholic Bible Study, Father Ian VanHeusen presents his weekly spiritual exercise based on scriptures to help us grow in our relationship with the Lord. St. Ignatius of Loyola explains, “By the term “Spiritual Exercises” is meant every method...
Have you noticed the proliferation of zombie apocalypse imagery and themes everywhere in popular entertainment? The phenomenon is ironic to me, because just now as zombies preoccupy campy media, real life has become increasingly anesthetized. Death and sin are swept...
“What are girls made of?” That’s the question this Nike commercial asks. “Made of flowers and rings, gossip and marmalade, that is what our girls are made of,” is the response in a traditional song that the young girl in the ad responds with. The audience nods...