They represent the totality of the Christian life, which calls us out of ourselves By Deacon Bob Hunt Lent is a season of transformation. The Church calls us to focus on three aspects of our Christian life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But focusing on these aspects of the Christian life …
Unspoken love is real, but not with God
St. Valentine’s legacy was as priest, martyr, rebel, and protector of forbidden love By George Valadie Hoping you have a happy Valentine’s Day! Or that at least you don’t mess it up. I’ve done that on occasion. You’d think since it originated somewhere in the 14th century, we’d have figured …
CCETN: A beacon of hope
Imagining a world without Catholic Charities is difficult and disheartening By John Mecklenborg Looking back on Inauguration Day, it’s easy to feel as if you are peering across the stern toward a fading shoreline. The emergent waters of this new administration are tempestuous—like a Nor’easter overwhelming the weary and making …
Praying for ‘a new springtime of Pentecost’
Confirmation allows us to experience a ‘personal Pentecost’ that leads to new life in the Spirit By Father Randy Stice In his Advent column, Bishop Mark Beckman shared that his prayer for our diocese is for “a new springtime of Pentecost,” and that one of his priorities for the coming …
‘Love in the Flesh’
Let us examine our hearts and resolve to improve the world By Bishop Mark Beckman Today, I write on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, having just celebrated the liturgy in our Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Anna and Simeon meet God in that ancient …
A new year of hope
Jubilee marks 2025 as extraordinary in the life of the Church By Bishop Mark Beckman The beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the future. This new year of 2025 is an extraordinary one in the life …
Popular piety is ‘a precious treasure’
Pilgrimages, Stations, and the rosary extend but do not replace the Church’s liturgical life By Father Randy Stice All of the Church’s activities are directed to our holiness and God’s glory, and this is most efficaciously achieved in the liturgy, “and especially from the Eucharist,” from which, as a font, …
God sends one to be the hope of another
In this Jubilee Year, perhaps we can be the answer someone has longed for but given up on By George Valadie A belated welcome to 2025! And welcome to this year of Jubilee; this year of hope and the grace that comes from spreading it! I know we’re just a …
A special disposition of grace
SEEK25 conference was inspirational regardless of the season of life you’re in By Claire Collins It had been five years since I last attended the Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ SEEK conference. After spending three years as a missionary with FOCUS, my husband and I went back to SEEK in …
Wanting Jesus and coming ‘back home’
He ‘finally arrived,’ desiring the Eucharist after years away from the Church By Deacon Bob Hunt I was raised in a Sunday Mass and sacraments Catholic family. By that I mean that my parents took us to Mass every Sunday and made sure we received the appropriate sacrament at the …
In praise of Mother Church
The Catholic faith, in her loving wisdom and beauty, invites us all to join her By Claire Collins I was recently at a funeral for the father of a dear friend. After his courageous and valiant battle with cancer, we were there to celebrate his life and, most importantly, to …
The Eucharist has a ‘cosmic character’
The body and blood of Christ ‘introduce within creation . . . a sort of “nuclear fission” By Father Randy Stice The Second Vatican Council taught that since Christ died for all and that all have the same ultimate vocation of eternal life in the Trinity, “the Holy Spirit in …
