In the fall of 2014, I got on a train to enter the convent. I was happy and healthy, with an intact family, great friends, a list of accomplishments I was proud of, and no history of mental health trouble, having passed my psychological … [Read more...]
Well Directed — Lessons Learned
from Saint Paul
The Importance of Spiritual Direction in the Ministry and Mission of Evangelization in Light of the Life and Ministry of the Apostle Paul
January 26, 2020 by Fr. William Dillard
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may … [Read more...]
Life in Peloton
A Reflection on Cycling and Priestly Fraternity
January 18, 2020 by Fr. John Nepil
It is patently unthinkable that someone would attempt to win the Tour de France alone. This is the reason why cycling has always been a team sport. At the professional level, even teams are never solo; they come together to form a peloton, … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – January 2020
January 18, 2020 by Book Reviews
The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today By Sam Guzman. Reviewed by Austin Barnes. (skip to review) Still Amidst the Storm: A Family Man’s Search for Peace in an Anxious World By Conor Gallagher. Reviewed by Seth G … [Read more...]
Understanding the Vatican’s Document on Gender Theory and Education
December 28, 2019 by Stephen G. Adubato
I’ve been trying to keep up with the diverse array of responses to the release of “Man and Woman He Created Them,” the Vatican’s new document addressing gender theory and education. Predictably, liberal Catholic news outlets have criticized … [Read more...]
Suicide Prevention in Youth
December 28, 2019 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
The severity of the mental health crisis in American youth has been clearly documented again by the shocking research reported in the Wall Street Journal that over the ten year period 2007 to 2017 the suicide rate among people ages 10 to 24 … [Read more...]
The “Un-hefted” Vanishing Flock
September 30, 2019 by Kevin Wells
When Irishman Declan Dinneny spoke, I caught every fifth word. His voice came in a wild chorus of undulated high pitches that crescendoed when he spoke of something important, like maybe a heifer who’d miscarried that morning. His farm was b … [Read more...]
A Sacerdotal Summer
September 11, 2019 by David Vincent Meconi
St. Ignatius of Loyola likened the “enemy of our human nature” to a cunning military strategist who sussed out each of our weakest defenses and thereby knew exactly where to strike. A war for souls is truly on, both on the individual as wel … [Read more...]
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to Priests
September 11, 2019 by Pope Francis
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to Priests on the 160th Anniversary of the Death of the Holy Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney To my Brother Priests Dear Brothers, A hundred and sixty years have passed since the death of the holy … [Read more...]
The Dark Spirit in Our Institutions
Catholics, Take Heed
September 11, 2019 by Stephen J. Heaney
There is a dark spirit, a spirit of unreason, stalking the world. In earlier times we might have characterized it as a Dionysian spirit attempting to oust Apollo. This spirit urges those who listen to it to throw off the constraints of the … [Read more...]
Parochial Solipsism
July 26, 2019 by Fr. John Nepil
It is not excessive to suggest that three quarters of the life of the American pastor is consumed with administrative governance. He is, for all intents and purposes, the head of a small business. He hires and fires, reviews budgets, … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – July 2019
July 26, 2019 by Book Reviews
A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching By Kevin E. McKenna. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) The Abolition of Women: How Radical Feminism Is Betraying Women By Fiorella Nash. Reviewed by Marcus Benedict Peter. … [Read more...]
Parental and Spousal Alienation in Catholic Marriages
June 30, 2019 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
Marital separation and divorce in Catholic couples can result in intense levels of stress and sadness, particularly in the majority of spouses who report, while this is occurring, being happily married, committed to the marriage, and … [Read more...]
Why You Should Have Hope for the Future of the Church
June 18, 2019 by Michele Chronister
It’s officially the heart of ordination season, and our family is attending our usual round of ordination Masses. For the second year in a row, I am sewing a chasuble and stoles for some of my seminarian friends. If you have never sewn a … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – May 2019
May 19, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Handling the Precious Blood Question: During Mass, wine is consecrated in a chalice and we believe it becomes the Precious Blood of Jesus. I understand that it should not be poured out into any other vessel and given to Eucharistic … [Read more...]
Recent Comments