I remember a day when I woke up and decided I was going to be holy. Sounds good, doesn’t it? The problem was, I didn’t think I could be holy enough as myself. So I looked at the people around me who I felt were holy and tried to be like them. Of course, it was a...
I have become convinced that one of the most important indicators of someone’s spiritual maturity is how they deal with stress. Even good people with great intentions fail to maximize their spiritual life precisely because they deal with their stress in ways that...
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 "Lectio Divina"; this is a powerful method which we explain here. The following is the Sunday gospel reading with a...
“The 33” is a movie based on the true story of 33 men who were trapped in a copper mine for 69 days. You may recall the event from 2010 that had the whole world watching and praying for the men from Chile living 200 stories below the earth. This is a powerful story of...
Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is also the host of CATHOLICISM, the groundbreaking, award-winning documentary about the Catholic Faith (and a newly released sequel...
When was the last time you made it outdoors? I don’t mean just popping out of the house to get a coffee or to go shopping. I mean, when were you last completely away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday living, and out in the magnitude of God’s creation? It can...
During a special Mass held in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the Holy Father referred to “three massive and unprecedented tragedies” of the past century. “The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the twentieth century, struck...
One of the most misunderstood teachings of our time is what the Catholic Church says about sexuality, marriage, and family life. The beauty of what our Church truly believes is often overshadowed by what the media distorts it to be. As a result, there is truly a lack...
Everyone who is engaging in their faith will experience this eventually- at a time when difficulties or despair set in, when doubts become overwhelming, and God feels distant. Prayer feels impossible and no long or short the length of the dry spell, there is no...
Softly spoken, with a gentle demeanor, Fr Douglas Bazi delivers his message for the camera with quiet but unapologetic firmness. His tone is even, straightforward, but something in his voice carries an urgency. There is a sense that time is running out. There is a...
There’s something very striking about a person looking directly into another’s eyes. When someone gazes at you without saying any words, it can feel like they are looking into the very depths of your heart. You may be able to picture a time like this when no words...
Chances are good that if you’re young, Catholic and a professional, you may have already heard some rumors about YCP (Young Catholic Professionals). This young adults’ group is taking off in several areas in the United States. It seems that young adult Catholics are...
If you are in need of reclaiming the spirit of joy, we suggest that you spend time in prayer thinking about Heaven. The promise of Heaven allows the power of the Victory of Christ's resurrection to come alive in our hearts. Jesus opened the doors for us to be with...
It’s the season of Easter. We’ve made it through Lent and now Christ is Risen (Alleluia!). If you’re anything like me, this time compels me to want to continue to grow in the Christian joy I felt on Easter Sunday. We’re blessed to live in an era when incredible...
Confession can be scary. But it is always worth going to, no matter how we feel about it beforehand. The graces and mercy that flow from this Sacrament always conquer the fear and anxiety that we might feel. People will find a million reasons to avoid this gift....
José Luis Martín Descalzo is a priest, a journalist, and a Spanish writer from a profoundly Christian family in which he was the youngest of four siblings. He completed degrees in History and Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a...
Praying the Stations of the Cross is a devotion centered on the main events of the Passion of our Lord. If you have not yet done the Stations during the Fridays of Lent, we encourage you to take the opportunity on Good Friday. In fact, I dare say that we can...
In my post, 9 Things I Would Like To Have Known Before Getting Married, one of the points that raised a lot of questions was number 8: "A good marriage is the union of two people who are good at forgiving." Many people contacted me relating how difficult it was for...
There is so much to think about and reflect on during Holy Week that it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. One meditation that I have found to help draw me deeper into contemplating the Passion is the tradition of studying the 7 Last Words of Christ....
"It would do us good to ask one question: Who am I? Who am I before my Lord? Where is my heart? Which of these people do I resemble most ? Who am I before Jesus who is suffering?" These are a few of the questions that Pope Francis has asked us to reflect on this...
I remember the day that I told Jesus I was a porn addict. I remember the fear. I remember my body shaking, and my words trembling. For myself, it was an honest realization and a total admission. I remember kneeling before Jesus Christ in Eucharistic Adoration, and...
I can't give you any statistics on (now former) Chicago White Sox's baseball player Adam LaRoche and I don't know much about his faith life, but I do know that he made a very powerful statement yesterday about family that we can all learn from. For the past six years,...
While we often hear a lot about the popular culture that surrounds St. Patrick's Day, many of us are quite ignorant when it comes to the man himself. To put it simply, we do not call him "Saint" for nothing; the man's faith was truly impressive: “For by decent I was a...
I recently finished reading Mike Pacer’s Mercy and Hope and it left me feeling... well... completely hopeful! It seems that in our world today, many become overwhelmed and begin to feel hopeless. Why do so many lose hope in the midst of their temporary circumstances?...
One of the great joys of being a teacher is watching my students’ growing awareness of who or what they want to become. When they finally voice that decision for ‘engineer’, ‘designer’, ‘university student’, ‘apprentice’, I very often see a mix of composure,...
