Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, Norway is a spiritual writer who understands the nature of the spiritual malady that afflicts our age, a sickness that runs so deep within us that most aren’t even aware we have it. He describes it as despair, as a kind of spiritual sadness. We are sad, he argues, becauseContinue reading “Christmas “
Category Archives: Saints
Apostle to the Greeks
Andrew was an unusual name for a first-century Jewish man. That’s because it’s not a Hebrew name but one that comes from the Greek word andros, meaning man. But St. Andrew lived in the region of Galilee, a place where the Greek language and culture was influential. Perhaps it was due to this that hisContinue reading “Apostle to the Greeks “
C’est la Confiance
“It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love.” In his letter, C’est la Confiance, published 10/15/23, Pope Francis commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. St. Therese, of course, was born in 1873 into an upper-middle class family, entered the Carmelite monastery inContinue reading “C’est la Confiance “
Cardinals
Next Saturday, September 30, Pope Francis will install 21 new members of the College of Cardinals. A Cardinal of the Church is a senior member of the Catholic clergy whose most important responsibility is to elect a new pope when the reigning pontiff dies or resigns. Most Cardinals are bishops, though not all. Popes occasionallyContinue reading “Cardinals “
Blessed Family
In the early morning of March 24, 1944, Nazi police arrived at the farm of Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma in the small town of Markowa, Poland. An informant had notified the police that the Ulmas were hiding Jews in their home, a crime punishable by death. A search of their home revealed eight members ofContinue reading “Blessed Family “
WYD
Papal biographer George Weigel tells a story about meeting with Pope John Paul II in December 2004. The pope was quite ill with the Parkinson’s Disease that would claim his life just a few months later, but he was still alert and happy to share a meal with his friend, who presented him with aContinue reading “WYD “
Two Standards
July 31 is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Spanish soldier who pursued worldly glory above all things until he had a conversion while convalescing after a terrible leg injury incurred on the field of battle in 1521. Ignatius had a vivid imagination, which he used to meditate on sacred scriptures, placingContinue reading “Two Standards “
Grandparents’ Day
Ever since the 1970s, the first Sunday after Labor Day every year is designated National Grandparents’ Day. But we Catholics have been celebrating Grandparents’ day since at least the 6th century, with our observance of the feast day of Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparentsContinue reading “Grandparents’ Day “
The Power of Carmel
July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Because it falls on a Sunday this year, we don’t celebrate it in the liturgy, but it’s worth commemorating even on our own. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patron saint of the Carmelite Order which traces its spiritual lineage back to theContinue reading “The Power of Carmel “
Cardinal George, Cultural Missionary
I recently finished reading Glorifying Christ, a new biography by Michael Heinlein about Francis Cardinal George (1937-2015), who served as Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago from 1997-2014. Cardinal George was by all accounts a devoted pastor, but also a brilliant man, who was widely seen as the intellectual leader of the American episcopacy. Before becoming aContinue reading “Cardinal George, Cultural Missionary “
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 