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 Make An Examination Of 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....
You can ask that this year 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....
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...
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 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...
In the last few years, the Catholic scene has been exploding with new prayer journals. This trend is a good tracking point for the effectiveness of the New Evangelization. The need for these journals shows that more people are yearning to spend time in prayer and to...
This week on the podcast Fr Ian and Alanna discuss the power of our spoken word to reveal who we are. We also discuss how important it is to discern what people say by comparing it to the fruit of their words. It is possible that they are lying and we need to be...
This week on the podcast we talk about motivation and what is required to keep us going. A few things we go over is companionship, mission, and knowledge of what you are created for. The second reading we talk about the primacy of love in the use of our gifts....
This week Fr Ian and Alanna discuss the connections within the Sunday readings. Ezra was a leader in the spiritual revival of Jerusalem after the time of Exile, Nehemiah was the governmental leader who came in and built up the protections for the people. Ezra was...
Fr. Ian Van Heusen and Alanna Burg discuss the readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary time. We begin discussing the topic of our identity and how we view ourselves before and after the encounter of God in our lives. We have considered ourselves forsaken, but now...