Are you feeling low? Tired? Empty? Perhaps God is asking you to go on a silent retreat. Retreats, particularly those done in silence, allow us to set time apart for God by disconnecting from the very connected world we live in. Retreats can be for as little as...
Everyone struggles with something. A root sin, a set of bad habits, some sort of fear, something that causes undue anxiety, etc. Many (most?) of us struggle with many such things. So what does a person do? Drew Taylor and I sat down recently to discuss this topic, and...
We know what a spiritual life is, but what’s a basic way that we can get a daily spiritual plan going? What does a daily prayer life look like? Fr. Hanley offers tips and basic practices that anyone can use to get started in living a life of prayer. Listen to Fr....
I was a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity when I learned that there is a difference between being happy and being joyful. Up until then, I had thought the terms were interchangeable. Someone could be happy being able to see their friends. A...
Winter is a beautiful time of year, but it is often when the mundane daily life, cabin fever, and other “winter blues” so to speak, start to take their toll on us. Physically we tend to gain weight, too, and not just as a consequence of holiday feasting. We spend time...
I am, admittedly, a ‘cradle Catholic,’ who has experienced times of great closeness to the faith, and other times when I wandered, like a dog, who suddenly finds itself outside its familiar fence, and is anxious to sniff out what the world outside might be like. ...
I distinctly remember grade school lunches on Fridays. They were conveniently meatless. Then in high school, when Lent arrived, as I bit into my chicken sandwich, I looked up at my other Catholic friend at our table. We realized it was Lent, and we spit out our bite...
“And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) Growing up I had never been around religious sisters as my entire education was in the public schools, and it was not until I was an undergraduate in college that one...
An Illustrated Guide To Examining Your Conscience 1. Open Yourself Up to God’s Presence Practical tip: find a quiet corner in your home or in a chapel. Having a sacred image in front of you is ideal. Light a candle. Take a few moments to breathe and relax. Start by...
You can ask that 2021 is better or you can pray that it’s better, but you should also prepare for it to be better. It’s okay if you didn’t come out stronger from everything you may have gone through, but now is the time to make positive New Year's resolutions. I’m...
We live in charged times for dialogue, particularly around sexuality. It can feel like “truth” and “charity” are in a tug of war for our attention and application. We know LGBTQ concerns are more than just “issues” that show up in our news feeds. Many of us have...
I didn’t sign up to screw up my kids. Fatherhood was going to be GREAT - adventures, hugs, and giving better than I got. 27 years, 10 kids, 6 months of couple's counseling and 1 year of Catholic psychotherapy later, it's the break of dawn before my daughter’s college...
Do you feel like a leader? Sometimes, we can see our daily actions or lives as a survival mode. We are trying to live out our faith, get the to-dos done, work requirements, and help our family. The word evangelization can be intimidating and counterculture. We...
This past weekend I watched The Social Dilemma with my husband, and I have since removed all social media apps from my phone (and totally deleted others). Now, don't panic, this is not an article trying to convince you to abandon social media, we at Catholic-Link very...
Increased attacks on Catholic churches in Europe, the US, and South America; growing political tensions; and abortion still considered healthcare are enough to prove the spiritual battle is intensifying. And, when you add on a growing pandemic and horrific accidents...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
Mardi Gras rolls around every year, and every year I think "Oh shoot. What am I going to give up for Lent this year?" Now, for starters, I suggest that you consider what your Lenten practices are going to be before Fat Tuesday, but hey, we've all been there and just...
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time This week we talk about the prophecy of Isaiah that can be looked at in three different ways. First and foremost, Christ is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Second, St John the Baptist is God's servant and draws the people out into the...
This week on the Podcast we talk about the prophecy of the baptism and the fulfilment in Christ. We really go into our response to holiness. In maturity we are able to rejoice in the gifts of others, not tear them down in jealousy or envy. We talk about how John...
If you find that your life is filled with tension and anxiety, one obvious solution is to offer what you're going through to Christ in prayer. And in a rich and beautiful podcast, Dr. Edward Sri shows us why and how we can do this by unpacking the famous phrase from...
This week on the podcast we discuss a lot about waiting for the Holy Spirit. Discussing the first reading we ponder the Ascension from the perspective of the Apostles. How did they feel? What were they going through? We discuss how hard discernment is, and how hard it...
This week on the podcast we talk about the lenten practice of fasting. Fr Ian is fired up! The whole point of fasting during lent is to get our flesh in line with our spirit, since "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak". To fast from good things for a time...