Fr. Ian VanHeusen presents a gospel reflection and spiritual exercise on the Gospel of John 3:14-21, when Jesus proclaims Himself the Light of the World. Throughout the Lenten season, Father encourages us to invest in prayer of self-examination, and he provides...
Praying the Stations of the Cross is an important spiritual practice during the season of Lent. Meditating on the sufferings of Our Lord will help us to more fully experience the joy and the victory of Easter Sunday. If you're not able to attend The Stations of the...
Recently, we brought you Part 1 of our series on the Doctors of the Church, having begun our list with the so-called Eight Ecumenical Doctors - from the West - St. Ambrose (340-397), St. Jerome (345-420), St. Augustine (354-430), and Pope St. Gregory the Great...
The Lent Linebacker from New Catholic Generation is back to ensure that you stick to your Lenten promise and follow the days of fasting and abstinence. Cheat and you might find yourself getting tackled. The Lent Linebacker is lurking around every corner and ready to...
Children are the future. They are the lives that continue on. Parents often project their aspirations onto their children and would like to see their hopes fulfilled in them. But, much like the future, the life of a child is not within our control. Though we might...
Fr. Ian VanHeusen presents a gospel reflection and spiritual exercise on the Gospel reading for the 2nd Sunday of Lent, Mark 9:2-10, the account of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. Throughout the Lenten season, Father encourages us to invest in prayer of...
We all know Lent is a penitential time of the year. However, what often happens during Lent is that many of the penances we adopt revolve around fasting, abstinence and prayer. Some of us give up coffee, desserts or snacks, others take on spiritual practices like...
“Though in Your sight I despise myself and reckon myself dust and ashes, there is something I know about You, which I know not about myself.” - Augustine, The Confessions A few days ago I was with some close friends in Subiaco, (where St. Benedict first founded a...
If changing your diet or giving up some item of food is not possible for you this Lent, read on to find out seven creative and challenging ways that will allow you to still partake in Lent! 7 Ways To Do Lent That Don't Involve Food 1. Get Creative For God Paint a...
We invite you to watch Father's video, then prayerfully read the Gospel and reflection, and work your way through the Exercises. We pray that this might help you in your apostolate, your family, your classroom, or personally... to prepare for and more deeply...
Pete Burak, director of i.d.916 gives a quick rundown of some creative ideas for young adults to think about giving up this Lent. The suggestions to give up eye-rolling, extra guac, and not finishing a book spoke directly to my heart! Which ideas will inspire...
Looking for a fun, quick, and easy way to explain Lent to your children, class, or youth group? Check out this great video produced by Trideo. Ash Wednesday and Lent in 60 seconds - with Lego! https://youtu.be/beWSVFNPw0s Looking for more? An Excerpt Pope Francis'...
Every year without fail all things Lent appeal to me. The books, the retreats, the daily emails, the texts... Inevitably, I sign-up for everything and buy at least a few books. I have this desire to soak up all the spiritual resources that I can find. But, you...
When I was growing up, my understanding of Lent was that I wasn’t supposed to be eating candy, I got “black stuff” on my forehead at the beginning of the season, and we didn’t eat meat on Fridays. What it actually meant was beyond me; and to be completely honest, I...
Looking for a New Year’s Resolution that could change the world? This idea is simple, effective, and is guaranteed to save souls. The tradition, known as a Living Rosary, began in France during the 1700s, but it was St. John Paul II that made this devotion...
Gospel Reflection for the Feast of the Holy Family Every one of us, to greater or lesser degree, feels the need to leave our mark on history. We wish our lives would never end; we fear falling into the oblivion of forgetfulness, of being forgotten. And we often...
We’re not just happy that Jesus was born on December 25. We’re always happy about His coming while we look forward to His second coming! It might only be one time a year that we focus on His birth, specifically, but it’s something we always hold in our hearts. During...
“Consider, oh man, what God became for your sake; understand this lesson of surpassing humility presented by a teacher who, as yet, says no word.” - Saint Augustine The word “to promise” means to put in motion. And a promise is the way in which we put our lives in...
If you were to walk through the narrative of the Nativity story, you’d know it pretty well, right? That’s not a trick question, because I agree, we all know it very well. But what if the reason why we know it so well isn’t just because we’ve heard it year in, year out...
Since the beginning, Christian artists tended to reflect the theological developments that were going on at the time. Before the Nativity theme, for example, it was the Adoration of the Magi that first appeared in the 3rd century. In the background, we find the...
I’m sorry that we used such a click-baity title because really we just want you to have the best Christmas possible. So here are 7 ways you (might) be doing Christmas (a little bit) wrong. But better still, here are 7 ways to make your Christmas holier, happier and...
Christmas is a time where we are invited to open our hearts up to Christ, a time to allow Him to be born within us. Today's video looks at offering you 4 ways to embrace this invitation. We invite you to watch Father's video, then prayerfully read the Gospel and...
During the holiday season, it’s so very easy to get caught up in the pretty packages, Christmas movies, hot cocoa, and the endless lists filled with names of all the people dear to us that it’s easy to forget what we are celebrating. While these things are wonderful,...
TXT Stories has created this cute video that imagines how things would have gone if the Angel Gabriel had communicated via text message. Of course, this isn't accurate, but it is funny, and it might be just the thing some of us need to take our minds off of Christmas...
Do you ever just skim through a Bible passage in order to get to the "good" part? Quickly scan the details to find the heart of the story? That's a habit that is necessary to break. Every word in the Bible carries significance and meaning, even those we just see as...