Our interior life is just that – a life all its own. With the benefit of hindsight and reflection we can recognize different “seasons” of
By: Caitie Crowley Have you ever asked how a good God could let bad things happen? Where is God in the midst of suffering? Is
When we act like a victim sacrifice, suffering for our own failings or like a scapegoat who suffers as the result of others sins, we
We tend to think of Lent as a time to share in the suffering of Christ yet when we do so, we often become morose
I was talking about Lent to my cousin who’s entering the Church this Easter. What should she give up for her first real participation in Lent? Fairly
“Offer it up.” Feeling concerned, stressed, out of sorts? Offer it up. Are you suffering physical pain? Offer it up. “Offer it up” is advice
Decades ago, when I was serving as a military legal officer, some classified documents in my command went missing. I advised referring the matter to
It takes humility to realize most of our personal suffering does not save anyone, least of all ourselves. Ironically, it usually takes suffering to break
The doctrine of redemptive suffering is quite difficult to grasp. Most cradle Catholics recall a parent or teacher’s advice to “offer it up” when they
As Catholics, we are called to build an open door to our church, a door that both invites others to enter into our fellowship
I have prayed the Prayer for Vocations a couple thousand times and yet it wasn’t until fourteen years ago that it struck a chord. There
My mother died on February 26, 2006. She spent most of February in the hospital. When it became clear she was never going home, medical
After two millennia, our veneration of Mary might make it somewhat difficult to imagine how St. Joseph might have seen her when he first heard
Dolores. In Spanish, it means “suffering.” Catholics use the phrase “Our Lady of Dolours” when talking about the sorrowful mother. Dolores, then, would be a
Every society, every culture has a tradition of a scapegoat: a person or group of people to blame and punish for the sins of that
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has a host of artistic problems, but its most profound failures are of moral understanding. Whereas the original novels
One of my favorite movies, if not my favorite of all time, is Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. I watched this movie in my
Genuine, spiritually powerful redemptive suffering does exist as a genuine call from God. However, what most of us experience is far from redemptive, because our
