On October 8 and 9, 1859, the Blessed Mother appeared to Adele Brise, a young Belgian woman, in Champion, Wisconsin. Three times, Adele saw a
How often, especially in times of crisis, do we feel tricked by God? We think we have been duped into believing that all will be
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the remains of Saint Peter the Apostle in the Necropolis at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. When I
Contrary to what I know to be the right thing to do, I have a stubborn tendency to dwell too much in the world, being
On Yom Kippur, the ritual trial reaches its conclusion. The people finally drop all their defenses and excuses and throw themselves on the mercy
In the book Get Us Out of Here! the late Austrian mystic Maria Simma is quoted as saying that “Love without a Cross is empty;
Several months ago, I happened to glance at the cover of America, and noticed something strange among the featured article descriptions: “Jesus, Please Don’t Fix
“Dogma Lives Loudly Within You”, said the Senator. Thank you very much, Senator. I am flattered that you noticed. I do try very hard to
Historically, theological controversy has led to the development of doctrine. This is quite apparent in the record of the ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church,
Like most European Catholics I was born and brought up in the aftermath of the Renaissance influenced by a spirituality that owed as much
Fear and faith are not two sides of the same coin as that would make them binary, either or, all, or nothing. Rather, they
The Church has always recognized the important role that they play in our lives. “They” are God’s angels. “No evil shall befall you, nor
There is a movement today in the world that denies the power of the Church of Jesus Christ in our lives. The narrative goes something
It is amazing how much the words of Jesus apply to our modern era and cut right to the hypocrisy of our worldly ways. Then
“For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you” (John 13:15). Our Lord told the apostles this at
I’ve had an extraordinarily good year. By any rational standard, every year of my life has been good, but this year in particular I have
Around the world, from the local parish to the highest levels of the Vatican, the papal exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL) has been interpreted by some to justify,
In 1975, singer Mac Davis released a song entitled “It’s Hard to be Humble”. The lyrics of this tongue-in-cheek song brought crowds to laughter, yet,
Many Families, Many Approaches There are as many ways to manage a family with young children at Mass as there are families that attend. Many
On December 10, 1925, Our Lady appeared to Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart, in her convent. Sister Lucia was one
Just about everybody agrees that Jesus is presented as divine in the Gospel of John. In the very first verse, John says that “the Word
Perfect love does not happen without suffering. Though it may sound contradictory, we often find the deepest joys of our lives emerge only after periods
There is rising darkness, chaos and disorder all around us today. This is happening both outside of the Church as well as within. It is
Have you ever stopped to consider the sacred vessels used by the priest at Mass, the vessels in which the Lord of Heaven and earth
