Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun Fr. Kapaun was named a “Servant of God” in 1993, which is the official beginning of the opening of a cause for canonization, for sainthood in the Catholic Church. Of course, the saints are the blessed in Heaven who dwell with God in...
Dating is easy today, right? Hardly. It’s never been easy; but especially in a social media world—and after the pandemic, nothing can be taken for granted. This is literally uncharted territory. And yet, human nature remains fundamentally the same in so many...
Four years ago, my future seemed clear to me. I thought I’d spend my days living in small-town Minnesota and ministering to country parishes as their priest. I love my home state, and I love the people there very much, but God had other plans. After...
Saint Teresa of Calcutta was known for spending countless hours attending to the dying, the sick, and the poor. This flowed from her rich prayer life: Daily Mass and a daily holy hour. Where did Mother Teresa learn to sacrifice herself for others? Her first teacher in...
Gospel of Luke 14:1, 7-14 On a sabbath Jesus went to dineat the home of one of the leading Pharisees,and the people there were observing him carefully.He told a parable to those who had been invited,noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the...
The Virtue of Thankfulness: Simply Justice or Piety? The act of gratitude or being thankful is something which is seen as important both in the Church and in the broader human family. Gratitude is universally important for human relationships to flourish. Who wants to...
Everyone struggles with something. A root sin, a set of bad habits, some sort of fear, something that causes undue anxiety, etc. Many (most?) of us struggle with many such things. So what does a person do? Drew Taylor and I sat down recently to discuss this topic, and...
We are living in unprecedented times. The tension has become palpable. You can see it on our roads, in stores, even within our churches – people are stressed beyond belief. We live with the media shouting their respective agendas at us 24/7 – pandemic, civil unrest,...
Niceness gets a bad rap these days. In politics, being too nice to one’s opponents is seen as a sign of unseriousness, even betrayal of one’s comrades and principles. In Church affairs, the “Church of Nice” gets dragged for being unwilling to stand up for truth and to...
The Virtue of Justice Before we can begin to understand patriotism as a virtue, we have to first look to the broader virtue of piety. And before we can begin to understand piety, we have to understand the broader cardinal virtue of justice. The word “cardinal” comes...
It has become an annual Christmas ritual that my wife and children sit down and watch the whole extended version of The Lord of the Rings. Hot chocolate, Christmas nibbles, dressing gowns, and slippers – for about three days! I like the films but grew up with the...
God created you as a man. He created you as a son. He desires your heart, soul, and strength. Above all else, He calls you to embrace your identity as a child of the Father, as coheir with the Son and empowered by the Spirit. He calls you to be set apart from the...
Does God make people gay? Due to some comments allegedly made by Pope Francis, this question is on many people's minds. Is our sexual attraction determined even before birth by our Creator or is it something we choose as a result of life's circumstances? Many...
We hear a lot about what it means to be chaste before marriage, but what about when you are married? In this two-part series, we will take a look at the important points of purity within marriage. If you are married or preparing for marriage, we hope this series...
This insightful animation from Moondog Animation Studios is a part of the Willy Grunch series. Willy Grunch "is a carefree philosophizing poet happily stumbling through life… He’s not so different than everybody else, but we get to laugh at our own misery at his...
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who...
Growing up as the youngest of six siblings, the daily evening meal was non-negotiable. If we were home, we had to be there to eat altogether. Dragging myself from whatever engrossing book I was reading to join my family at the table was often the last thing I wanted...
I've been trying to go to Confession more regularly because I have been so encouraged by some of the articles we have posted here on Catholic-Link. (Find them here!) One of the many benefits of going more often has been that I've been able to see a pattern in the sins...
Who hasn’t ever wished to have a magic wand or a fairy godmother to do our homework assignments, take that horrible test for us, or simply make our problems disappear? In the video we present today, an amusing little wooden doll makes all this possible… and yes, for a...
God knew that we would need examples of how to live the faith well, and He has provided us with numerous Saints to observe and learn from in order that we too may lead holy lives. Of course, the Queen of all the Saints in Heaven is our Blessed Mother Mary and she is...
Did you know there's a 400 year-old, worldwide, supernatural fellowship (spanning heaven and earth!) for the cause of safeguarding, healing and spreading the virtue of purity? What's more, did you know that it still exists? Did you know you can join it? The Angelic...
On rare occasions, Saturday Night Live teaches us important lessons through the use of comedy. Earlier this month Emma Stone played the role of Mary in a Nativity scene. The skit shows Mary getting annoyed with the circumstances of Christ's birth, concerned about her...
When people think of "good manners" they tend to envision a butler named Jeeves, and a family like those on the popular TV series Downton Abbey (OK, maybe that's my vision). And while good manners in some instances may be little more than affectation, there is another...
I have become convinced that one of the most important indicators of someone’s spiritual maturity is how they deal with stress. Even good people with great intentions fail to maximize their spiritual life precisely because they deal with their stress in ways that...
David Brooks, famous columnist for the New York Times, a Yale University Professor, and a Jew, set out\ to write about his “Bucket List”. Having accomplished many of his life’s goals with a certain level of worldly success, Brooks realized something was still missing....
