Mario Lopez, former star of Saved By the Bell and current host of "Extra," has spent the last week in the Holy Land. He has shared several video highlights from his trip on social media, but the video that has gone viral is of his baptism in the Jordan River....
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...
We invite you to watch Father's video, then prayerfully read the Gospel and reflection. We pray that this might help you in your apostolate, your family, your classroom, or personally... to prepare for and more deeply experience Sunday's Mass, and to better integrate...
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,...
Habits and routines form and shape our experiences and our lives. These habits will help you make going to Mass more than a habit. Going to Mass is the ultimate form of prayer and should be a spiritual encounter with Christ. I invite you to reconsider your Mass...
Maybe, you've seen our posts about the benefits of Adoration or heard some of your Catholic friends talk about "going to Adoration," but you still don't really understand what that means. That's ok! Though the practice of Adoration has been a part of the Catholic...
The Eucharist is described in the Catechism as the "source and summit" of our faith. Finding the time to go to Adoration can be difficult. But if you can make it happen, committing to regular Adoration with an open heart can have some surprising results. While they...
Every person who has an encounter with the Risen Jesus is changed. The accounts in the New Testament show the many different emotions and responses people experienced when they saw Jesus alive after they had witnessed His death on a cross and burial just three days...
No matter how spiritual we are, we cannot ignore our bodies when we pray. Indeed, we pray with and through them, not only with our voice and thoughts. If we are happy, our face expresses it, and our body does, too; if we're worried, we put our head in our hands. When...
I dare say every person on earth could be found guilty of comparing themselves to another person out of envy, pride, or mere insecurity. These could be comparisons of physical qualities, family life, level of education, state in life, career path, or even spiritual...
When I first started growing in understanding my faith, I read a book that claimed to give concrete evidence for the existence and divinity of Christ. Not everyone needs this kind of help in his or her faith life, but for me, it made a difference. It gave my...
There is power in the name of Jesus. When we call on His name, He comes to our aid, helps us, heals us, surrounds us with His love, grace, and mercy. It is the shortest and simplest prayer we can utter, yet it provides us with more than we could ever ask for. There...
There’s something very striking about a person looking directly into another’s eyes. When someone gazes at you without saying any words, it can feel like they are looking into the very depths of your heart. You may be able to picture a time like this when no words...
If you are in need of reclaiming the spirit of joy, we suggest that you spend time in prayer thinking about Heaven. The promise of Heaven allows the power of the Victory of Christ's resurrection to come alive in our hearts. Jesus opened the doors for us to be with...
The Young Messiah is a film that tells the story of the child Jesus on his return from Egypt as he and the Holy Family settle down in Nazareth. This is obviously a fictional portrayal as this stage in the Lord Jesus’ life is described briefly in the Gospels....
"We live in a world where love itself is condemned: people call it weakness, something to grow out of. Some are saying: «Love is of no importance, we should rather develop our strength; let each one become as strong as he can and let the weak perish!» Again, they say...
It seems that Hollywood is starting to realize the power of the name of Jesus and is responding by creating more movies about the life of Jesus. Well, maybe. At the very least, producers have certainly realized the entertainment value of the story of His Life, Death,...
“Let us not be consumed with haste, as if time dedicated to Christ in silent prayer were time wasted. On the contrary, it is precisely then that the most wonderful fruits of pastoral service come to birth. There is no need to be discouraged on account of the fact that...
“Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new...
”The poor are thirsty for water but also for peace, truth and justice. The poor are naked and need clothing, but also need human dignity and compassion for those who sin. The poor have no shelter and need shelters made of bricks, but also of a joyful heart,...
”For in truth we are not called once only, but many times; all through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to...
Perhaps the way to become better acquainted with these Magi and to understand their desire to let themselves be guided by God’s signs is to pause to consider what they find on their journey, in the great city of Jerusalem.First of all they met King Herod. He was...
"It gives me great joy to know that the custom of creating a crib scene has been preserved in your families. Yet it is not enough to repeat a traditional gesture, however important it may be. It is necessary to seek to live in the reality of daily life that the crib...
“Christ is born, glorify him. Christ from heaven, go out to meet him. Christ on earth; exalt him: “Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice !” (Ps 96:1.11), for him who is of heaven and now of earth. Christ has made his dwelling...
“In the mystery of our Lord’s incarnation there were clear indications of his eternal Godhead. Yet the great events we celebrate today disclose and reveal in different ways the fact that God himself took a human body. Mortal man, enshrouded always in darkness, must...