Lent is a season rich in symbols and meaning. Here are some suggested ways to help you and your family grow spiritually during Lent. Choose the ones you think your family would enjoy the most. More »

If chronic poor health had not prevented her, Elisabeth Leseur, a French woman who died in 1914 at the age of forty-eight, would have devoted time and talents to service of the needy. More »

Every Lent, the church invites us to draw closer to the Lord by taking up the ancient practice of fasting. Every Ash Wednesday, we are urged to return to the Lord “with fasting, and weeping, and mourning” as we turn away from our sins and seek God’s mercy. (Joel 2:12). More »

Brothers and sisters, let us join with the Holy Father and Christians around the world in praying for these special needs: More »

“Oh, why did Leap Year Day have to fall during Lent?” I heard my daughter groan. She is a Leap Year Day baby—born twelve years ago, on February 29. More »

We’re often urged to “pray for vocations.” Almost always, this is meant as an encouragement to ask God for more priests and religious for service to the church. Certainly, this intention is crucial and timely. More »

The story you are about to read is the earliest known account of a Christian martyrdom. Written about AD 156, within a year of the event it describes, it is an authentic eyewitness report of the heroic death of an elderly man named Polycarp. More »

“Never give up hope!” Our friends, Bill and Cynthia, were crying for joy as they shared some remarkable family news with my wife and me. We had shared many things over the years—we were neighbors and fellow parishioners, and our children all attended the same Christian school. More »