Though St. Benedict was born in 480 A.D., he is certainly a Saint for our times. He was a man of strength, conviction, and courage. Although he desired to live in solitude as a hermit in a cave, when word of his holiness and devout life reached the nearby monks, they...
This week the Church has been in the midst of World Youth Day (WYD)! World Youth Day was established because of the creative genius of St. John Paul II. His unique ability to perceive the needs of young people led him to invent this unique way of...
Millions of young Catholics are gathering from around the world to celebrate our faith this week. Undoubtedly, many will experience conversions, form much-needed spiritual friendships, and feel God's love in a whole new way. There will be an abundance of joy,...
If you're like me, you might be struggling just a tiny bit with envy as you watch Catholic social media explode over World Youth Day this week. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the international event that gathers millions of young Catholics from all parts of the...
Go big or go home? We all dream of going big. As Christian youth, we dream of someday becoming saints and staying close to God for the rest of our eternity. It sounds great, but do you think about how many times we get sidetracked and fall because of our sins? Let’s...
The main characteristic that distinguishes a Christian from a person of a different religious denomination is true love. This consists of feeling deeply loved by God and loving Him in return, above all things. From this conception of life derive other characteristics,...
Today, July 16th, is the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the patron of Chile and the Carmelite religious order. Here we present a few important things to know about Our Lady and the Brown Scapular, but if you wish to read a more detailed history, we suggest...
It’s summertime in the Northern hemisphere and therefore, for the great majority of people, vacation time. You have probably looked forward to this moment and have great expectations about what you will do, the money you will spend, the places you know, and the...
June is one of those months that seem to fly by with graduations, weddings, and the beginning of summer. If you've missed your chance to reflect on the Sacred Heart of Jesus during this month devoted to it, I encourage you to set aside just a few moments to do so...
Just a couple of weeks ago, I attended my friend Sean’s ordination to the priesthood. I was overwhelmed by just how beautiful the whole experience was, and I was struck by the eternal nature of the whole ceremony. They say that when you’re ordained a priest,...
School is out, the weather is getting warmer, and ice cream trucks are once again making the rounds. Summer is here! For many, summertime means a relaxed schedule with no classes (and no homework!), shorter workdays, and vacations. It is a joy-filled season and a...
One of the best ways to enrich your faith-life is to pray with scripture. A great way of doing this is using the "Lectio Divina"; this is a powerful method which we explain here. We hope that it serves you in your personal prayer and that it serves as a resource 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...
A highly creative piece, Andrei Rublev's Troitsa (Russian for Triune or Trinity) hails from the summit of a more-than-thousand-year-old iconographic tradition. As you might have surmised, it is a Trinitarian interpretation of Gen 18:1-16, the episode in which "three...
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...
In college, I had the pleasure of taking a sacraments course with Dr. Scott Hahn, which was equal parts awe-inspiring and overwhelming. For starters, the man is practically a living encyclopedia when it comes to the Catholic faith, so notetaking in his class was...
It may not be the case for everyone, but certainly, in my experience, the Holy Spirit seems to take a bit of a back seat behind Jesus and God the Father. In some Catholic circles (not all!), we “don’t do” the Holy Spirit. Maybe because there has been a lack of...
As I write this, we are approaching the 5th Sunday of Easter, meaning that we will now be breaking into the last weeks of Eastertide before Pentecost Sunday. Every Easter I have the same thought, usually at some point in the Easter Octave, once the drama and intensity...
This article is for you, especially for you, if you have been thinking about going back to Mass this Christmas season. On the part of all of us at Catholic-Link, let me personally invite you back to mass (we even wrote a letter for you!): We want you back! Today's...
If you could bring anyone for dinner, dead or alive, who would it be? This isn’t a quiz, so there is no ultimate correct answer. You don’t need to say Jesus just because you are in a youth group, or a famous historical figure just because you want to sound smart. You...
I want to begin by saying that this is not an easy question. A lot has been written about this subject. I don’t mean to exhaust the richness or complexity of this theological problem that has fascinated a large part of Christian theologians-not without a headache or...
Sandwiched between the stark drama of Good Friday and the glory of the Easter Vigil, Holy Saturday is often in danger of being skipped over. For many of us, it will be a busy day- perhaps a typical Saturday, or perhaps hectic with preparation for the Easter Vigil. It...
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 I have found helpful in drawing me deeper into contemplating the Passion is the tradition of studying the 7 Last Words of Christ. More...