Home has never been a place for me. I have been so many places in my life. I have a special nostalgia for the farming country of Upstate NY, especially in the Summer, and the Fall. And the Spring. And the Winter. That’s because I grew up there, and I guess in a certain sense [...]
As the Church grapples with the modern world, intellectually and spiritually, globally and personally, she needs to be well prepared for adult converts. You are deciding to get life insurance. You have been weighing it up for years, listening to people who are adamant that you need it and people who are confident that it [...]
Sacramental grace can carry you throughout the years. This past Sunday was First Holy Communion at my parish. As the priest called the nine little souls to approach the altar, one particular girl, Lucy, stood out. Whether her excitement and enthusiasm was because she was in front of the crowd or because she was about to [...]
Have you heard? “Catholics are homophobes.” or “Catholics hate gays.” With homosexual marriage on the fore front of society, I get tired of hearing from others what Catholics believe. What do we believe about marriage? To put it short and sweet, “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a [...]
The Easter season always gives me a sense of renewal and rejuvenation. Not only is the Catholic celebration of Jesus’ resurrection a central component of our faith, but the Easter season also brings with it a feeling of new life and a spiritual “fresh start”. This Easter, our son’s first, brought to mind his Baptism. [...]
Earlier this week, it was reported that Archbishop Allen Vigneron made comments about supporters of “Gay-marriage” and their reception of Communion. The story originally broke in the Detroit Free Press, and was rather sketchy on quotes and sources, but the money-line was in there – supporters of “Gay-marriage” should not receive Communion. The original Free [...]
While writing her opinions of several C.S. Lewis books she had recently finished, a friend of mine remarked: “The more I learn, the more I want to love.” This sentence resonated with me because it reflected such an honest and beautiful desire of the soul to continue to learn more about her Divine Spouse. Here she [...]
In roughly 24 hours, the Sacred Triduum will begin. During these three days, the Church commemorates in a solemn manner the Passion, Death, and Burial of her Spouse, Our Blessed Lord. These days are a time to enter into more fervent prayer. For those of us who wonder “Where did Lent go?” and feel that [...]
Last year, I helped teach high school students at my parish’s faith formation program in St. Ignace, Michigan. We took the students to exposition, and afterward, one of them asked me how to tell when she is hearing God’s voice. This is an edited version of the letter I wrote her. Dear M., I’m glad [...]
I could not believe how quiet it was. Outside there is loudness, in there it is quiet, just me and my sins. It was dark. There were no candles, no lights, just shades of colors that bounced off the walls. I take that back, there were two small lights up on the wall, a [...]
“We shall notice that pious persons are disturbed most, because they have their own respectable way of hearing Mass, and they will feel shaken out of their usual thoughts and obliged to follow those of others.” -Paul VI, General Audience of November 26, 1969
Here we are about two weeks into Lent. Some of us are doing great with our Lenten penances; others of us have petered out or never figured out what to do for Lent this year in the first place. This is for those “others of us.” It is not too late to start Lent. Should [...]
I grew up in the early post-Vatican II era. I can remember the time before people held hands during the Our Father. I was a small girl when the Communion rails were removed from our church and the old ladies shook their heads and cried. I was 11 when girls were allowed to serve at [...]
The best things in life are free. The only thing in life that is free is grace. Therefore, the best things in life are graces. I received my first Confession in second grade. I remember standing back to the blackboard and reciting the Act of Contrition by heart. We all did this to prepare [...]
Update: After receiving some fraternal counsel on this post, I have decided to remove its content and consider contacting my bishop directly with the criticisms I made (albeit anonymously) of a particular parish in our diocese. Thanks for understanding.
For many contemporary Catholics, the Second Vatican Council is the most important, if not the only, Church Council in the history of the Church. For them, it brought the Church out of a rigorist darkness and enlightened it by its contact with modernity. If you would like to think that, you are wrong, but go [...]
I want to make sure all you great Catholics out there are aware of what is, in my opinion, a few of the best Catholic debates of all time – Fr. Mitch Pacwa on the John Ankerberg Show. I learned a heck of a lot from Fr. Mitch Pacwa watching him handle these tough Protestant [...]
Of all the things about me, there is only one that makes me in some way a kind of minority. I attend the Traditional Latin Mass. There aren’t a whole ton of us, and over the last ten years or so I have encountered many people who simply couldn’t understand why I’d attend such an [...]
Catholic singles, especially the ladies, have many things they do to prepare for the day they say “I do” and begin their married lives. There’s the age-old tradition of stocking a Hope Chest, full of useful and sentimental things for a future home, or the habit of writing letters to a future husband/wife, to [...]
I was recently speaking to a Catholic woman whose daughter is getting married later this year. I inquired about what church the marriage was to take place in but the mother replied that while the daughter liked the look of the parish church she had opted for a garden wedding so she was able to design more [...]
That Christmas has become more and more secularized is obvious. But we are not helpless against the tide. There are things we can do to restore and maintain the meaning of the holiday for ourselves and for our families, and for those around us. We can start by making our own personal observance of Advent [...]
So once again in Australia we see the inner workings of the Catholic Church being dissected by an audience that has little understanding of, or care for, matters of faith. Interestingly while commentators are usually quick to point out perceived trespassing by the Church into the domain of the State, there doesn’t seem to be [...]
I wish I could say that I’ve only been to the hospital once because I was bleeding profusely from my head. At least the second time it happened, some good came of it. During the summer of 2008, I went on a two-week mission trip to Brazil. We went to Matto Grosso State, on the [...]
I really do love our priests. There are so many holy and faithful servants that never tire to bring souls to Christ. My pastor at my parish is a shining example. As a parish, we have been blessed. The following is a list of challenges for some priests and perhaps fraternal correction for others. These [...]
Q. How do you pronounce “ignitum”? A. Well, you have some options. The Romans would have said ig-NEE-toom. In church, we’d say “in-YEE-toom.”
Why?
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