Spirituality

Heart racing, vision blurred, sweating profusely, breathing deeply yet feeling winded. The desire to flee overwhelms any sense urging you to assess your situation and to calm down. Standing, walking, pacing, near tears, your bones feel like they are itching from the inside, and you cannot see the en...

My fourteen-year-old daughter and I recently discussed a distressing belief in the Church today: the idea that young people are incapable of embracing the Faith in a deeper way. Having served in ministry both professionally and as a volunteer, I know how easy it is to fall into pessimism and cynicis...

Oftentimes we approach the Sacrament of Confession with shame and fear, worried what the priest might say or scared that someone might overhear our sins and judge us. In such a frame of mind, confession seems like a dreadfully pessimistic thing where we focus on the worst aspects of ourselves. It mi...

In this Sunday’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do You speak in parables?” Good question! Gospel (Read Mt. 13:1-23) The Gospel opens with a picturesque scene of Jesus sitting “by the sea” and drawing such a large crowd that He had to get into a boat and go offshore a bit so the people could h...

Each morning, in my prayer corner at home, I gaze at a pushpin board before I begin. It is filled with photos of friends who have died over the years—some of whom are Benedictine monks from Mount Angel Abbey, whose witness and friendship are forever etched in my heart. The great Fr. Augustine DeNobl...

Catholic educators are now revisiting questions concerning the nature and purpose of education, as seen in the recently released Front Royal Statement. Perhaps among these questions should be whether the near-universal adoption of coeducational schooling has served the distinct educational needs of...

Many Catholic families have welcomed the Sacred Heart of Jesus into their homes through an enthronement ceremony. Others have participated in parish consecrations or renewed personal acts of devotion during the month of June. These are beautiful practices, but they naturally raise an important quest...

A Visitor from Heaven, Part I: Apparitions in Northern Italy Last year, in remote Poland, an intriguing book appeared around private apparitions of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko. This publication may serve as a spiritual guide for all who desire to enter through the narrow gate and live forever with Jes...

As our nation turns its attention to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I’ve found myself wrapped up by a sobering event: 9/11. I am recalling the manner Americans instantly sought God in our collective grief. A quarter century after America’s worship spaces overflowed with gr...

Jim, Jim, I wore a tie today,The first one that I ever wore.You’d have said I looked like a dummy, Down at the dry goods store. That was country music legend Willie Nelson circa 1985. It was a duet with fellow legend Johnny Cash, who sang the second verse: Jim, Jim, the preacher said a lot of things...

The debate over euthanasia and assisted suicide is often presented as a debate about compassion. Who, after all, wants people to suffer? Who wants the elderly, the disabled, the terminally ill, or the mentally anguished to endure pain without help? The language is powerful because it touches somethi...

When ChatGPT first hit mainstream markets in 2022, it was the artists who began warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence. There is something about artists—whether painter, sculptor, graphic designer, iconographer, poet, writer, photographer, and others—being more in tune with reality at...