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This month, we will be taking a mini-retreat with Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, the Preacher to the Papal Household. Like many Catholics, I have followed Fr. Raniero’s preaching for years, and what I love most about him is his humility. He never draws attention to himself. Instead, he points his listeners to Jesus and urges them to open their hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit. More »
You did it to me. More »
One day Francis of Assisi, alluding to the chivalrous poems that were being written in his time, exclaimed, “All . . . valiant knights who were mighty in battle . . . gained a memorable victory for themselves [and] died fighting for the Faith of Christ. We see many today who would like to attribute honor and glory to themselves by being content with singing about the exploits of others.” More »
In the lives of many saints, we notice that they recognized the essence of their calling in a word from God. We only need to think of the role played in the vocation of St. Anthony the Abbot by the word from the Gospel, “Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, . . . and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). More »
On the other end of the phone, Mike could hear his daughter sniffling. “I miss you, Dad. When can I see you?” Without an answer and feeling powerless, all that Mike MacDonald* could do was to say “I love you” and hang up. Inside, he was fuming at his ex-wife. She had gone across the country to live with another man, taking their children with her. Mike was angry at his circumstances and angry at God. How was it “just” for a faithful, loving husband and father to end up alone, divorced, and unable to see his children? He still went to work every day and to Mass each Sunday, but his life felt mechanical and joyless. More »
The sun pierced my eyes as I watched my sister’s white Honda disappear down the driveway. Hot tears welled up. My big sister was gone—really gone. She had left for college and deserted me, her twelve-year-old sister. My tears now erupted into full-blown sobs. How long would it be until I saw her again? Days? Weeks? Possibly months? To be fair, her college dormitory was only thirty minutes away. But as far as I was concerned, Michelle might as well have been a million miles away. More »
Going out in public these days can be strangely isolating. Airport gates and subway stations are filled with dozens of people silently bobbing to their headphones or typing on their laptops. At times, our homes reflect a similar trend. It’s easy for family members to quarantine themselves with personal devices, and sometimes for good reasons. More »