Blog

Image: Saint Sharbel Makhlouf | unknown Saint of the Day for July 24 (May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898) Saint Sharbel Makhlouf’s Story Although this saint never traveled far from the Lebanese village of Beka-Kafra where he was born, his influence has spread widely. Joseph Zaroun Maklouf was raised by...

Image: Detail | Abrazo de San Joachim and Santa Anne ante la Puerta Dorada | Ambrosius Benson Saints of the Day for July 26 (c. 1st century) Saints Joachim and Anne’s Story In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmina...

When I was 23 years old, I was stationed with the Navy in England. I had finished a very successful first tour at a major intelligence agency Stateside and was sent overseas to help bring a new station online. From the outside, I had everything going for me. Internally, I was crumbling. I used all m...

I live in a sunny part of the world where many American baseball teams come for spring training. These pre-game games are relaxing, enjoyable, and, for spectators such as me, an inexpensive way to connect with family and friends. Others attend the same spring-training events and bring a wholly diffe...

This Sunday, Jesus teaches about the kingdom of heaven in parables that are so clear, even the apostles understand them. Gospel (Read Mt. 13:44-52) The Gospel reading gives us another cluster of parables about the kingdom of heaven, adding to an unusually high number in just one chapter.  The first...

Every championship has a moment when the game seems to slip away. It usually isn’t obvious at first. The players are still in position. The tactics haven’t changed. The scoreline may even remain close. Yet something subtle begins to happen. Patience gives way to urgency. The carefully rehearsed syst...

From Image to Icon, Escaping the Temptation of the Idol A recent Sunday Collect beautifully summarizes one of the deepest challenges of the Christian life: “Listen, O God, to our prayers, and grant that, by imitating the Passion of your Son, we may bear our daily cross with serene courage. Through C...

On December 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV knelt in Annaya, Lebanon, under an arch of stone, facing the carved cedar tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf. Pope Leo gazed at the image of the saint displayed above the tomb—a quiet, white-bearded religious priest and hermit robed in black. Charbel (Sharbel) Makhlouf wa...

In response to a question about summer advice, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of remembering those most in need during the holidays.The question and answer were both published in the July/August 2026 issue of Piazza San Pietro, the official magazine of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. As...

On July 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic of the Middle Ages who was a wife, mother to a large family, lady-in-waiting to a queen, and founder of a religious order that still exists today.1. St. Bridget experienced her first vision at age 10.Bridget,...

The Vatican will study the conditions needed for a possible trip by Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said following a six-day pastoral and diplomatic mission to the war-torn country.Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states and international organization...