Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
Spirituality
Spirituality
Children Are Never Too Young to Know Christ
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...
Spirituality
The Lord of the Rings and the Victory of Confession
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...
Spirituality
Why Does Jesus Speak in Parables? 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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...
Spirituality
The World Needs Benedictine Stability
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...
Spirituality
How the SSPX Preserved Single-Sex Catholic Education
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...
Spirituality
After the Enthronement: Living the Sacred Heart Devotion as a Family
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...
Spirituality
The Life and Death of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko
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...
Spirituality
The Answer to Our Anger: Becoming America’s Holy Ones
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...
Spirituality
Dressing Well for Mass: A Matter of Humility, Not Vanity
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...
Spirituality
From Gift to Disposal: Euthanasia, Suicide, and the Christian Meaning of Life
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...
Spirituality
Heed the Artists’ Warnings in the Machine Age
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...
Spirituality
The World We Long For No Longer Exists
A couple years ago I bought a manual typewriter. I was in a slump in my writing and seeking some kind of creative, esoteric reboot, I suppose. There were things I wanted to write that I didn’t necessarily want online, or on the nebulous Cloud, or even on a hard drive, and so I thought perhaps going...