Putting my children to bed is my favorite time of the day! I have a 2 year old and 4 year old and life can be so busy and nonstop. Sometimes the end of the day is the only time I have one-on-one quiet time with each child. As a Catholic mom and previous Early...
Some saints are instantly recognizable when you spot them, others remain in hazy anonymity. You know St. Therese when you see her, pristine Carmelite habit surrounding a bouquet of roses, austere and a little saccharine, she stands out in crowd. Peter with his keys,...
Every day, we face numerous choices, many of eternal consequences. When our hearts and minds are ordered toward God, these choices are usually between two goods. We could read to our children, or pray the rosary. We could spend Saturday afternoon...
Padre Pio is one of the most beloved saints in Catholic history. Many know him for having the stigmata or for his ability to bilocate and read hearts in the confessional. The stories of his miracles are inspiring and remind people of the power of God and His Church....
Our Lord Jesus Christ calls to our hearts. He humbles Himself in the form of Bread — a simple Host — in order to be available to us — to remain with us, to heal our wounded hearts, and nourish us with His abiding and incomprehensible Love and Mercy. He gives to us the...
"Therefore a certain Star has risen for us today: Our Lady, Saint Mary. Her name means Star of the sea; no doubt the Star of this sea which is the world. Therefore, we ought to lift up our eyes to this Star that has appeared on earth today in order that she may lead...
“Confession is an act of honesty and courage—an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God,” affirmed St. Pope John Paul II. Having recently walked with our own two oldest children through the beautiful experience of...
All Catholics are called to be saints. If we genuinely want to grow in holiness, we must study the lives of the saints who have gone before us to learn what habits, virtues, and values guided their path to heaven. It doesn’t take long to realize that a deep devotion...
St. John Chrysostom wonderfully tells us that when the devil sees us returning from the sacred Banquet of the Eucharist, he flees from us as if he has seen a lion “breathing forth flames from his mouth!” Why? Because in the precious sacrament of the Eucharist,...
We’ve all been there: you’ve done your research, you’ve waited for the big sale, and you’re all set to buy the accent chair/party dress/outdoor power tool of your dreams. But then, something catches your eye: a rainbow flag has appeared on the background of the...
Despise Not Our Petitions Mary is the Queen Mother in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The Queen Mother had a particular role in the Jewish world and that meaning is elevated and amplified in the age of the Church. From the beginning of the Church, Mary was seen as our...
Marriage is truly an adventure that requires careful packing. After saying "yes," you leave your childhood home, bid your farewells, say your see-you-laters (definitely not goodbyes), pack your entire life into a handful of suitcases, and embark on a new journey with...
There are really two camps when it comes to discernment. On the one side, some believe that discernment is discovering what is the will of God so they can do it, and on the other side, some believe essentially that a person’s vocation is just a free-willed response to...
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin is a day of joy: our Mother is elevated to the heavens. God has triumphed. Love has triumphed. Life has triumphed. It has become evident that love is stronger than death, that God possesses true strength, and His...
Imagine a land where everything is pink, every night is girl's night, and women hold all offices of power. This describes Barbieland, the place where all Barbies live: the stereotypical Barbies, the discontinued Barbies, all the Kens, and even Allan. This world may...
I couldn't help but notice that there wasn't much secular news coverage of this year's World Youth Day celebration in Lisbon. Maybe it's because the media couldn't twist Pope Francis' words out of context as easily as they usually do with our Holy Father? Throughout...
You might say that I’m a groupie. Beginning when I was sixteen, I attended four World Youth Days: Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), and Toronto (2002). My experience, along with millions of other young people, was transformative. The impact is still felt in...
My whole life, I have stated I am a member of the Catholic Church. I specifically remember learning in youth group that the word “catholic” meant universal, but the definition didn’t mean much to me until I partook in World Youth Day 2005. It was the summer before my...
One of the most contentious issues throughout history has been the question of whether life resulted from design or nothing more than physical processes. Are we the product of a mind or an accident of nature? This question took on supreme importance to me in college...
What is World Youth Day? The first World Youth Day was celebrated in 1984 when Pope St. John Paul II created a gathering on Palm Sunday in Rome to celebrate the Youth Jubilee of the Holy Year of Redemption. It was expected that sixty thousand people would attend, but...
As human beings, we all long for a deeper connection with God. We want to hear His voice, feel His presence, and know that He is with us in our daily lives. But how can we achieve this? How can we hear God's voice amidst the noise and chaos of our busy lives? Here are...
Though most Catholics will never have the opportunity to make a major pilgrimage in their life, there are a handful who will. The most popular Catholic pilgrimage places might be the Holy Land, Rome (and Italy), and France, especially Lourdes. Shrines of Mary’s...
I have the great blessing of having three adopted siblings. After having six biological children, my parents decided to adopt three more. They are incredibly generous people, and I think are perhaps strongly against the idea of spending any time at all in purgatory,...
I’ve been praying novenas for almost twelve years now and I’ve found they’re a great option for when you don’t know what to say, when you have a specific intention you’re praying for, and when you’re trying to “pray always.” Novenas are a traditional prayer that dates...
One of the great mysteries of life is understanding the motivations our own hearts. I can look at the sky, see the moon, and if it catches my fancy, look up all sorts of facts about it. I can know how big the moon is, what it’s made of, how far away, how fast it...