Dec092012

A GREAT BIG THANKS GOES OUT TO…

By My Year of Faith on December 09, 2012 in The Faith in Action

At Mass this weekend, you will most likely hear (or have heard) about the Retired Religious Fund. You may be wondering why this cause is so important. Today, in the United States, there are over 34,000 retired Catholic sisters, brothers, and...

Dec082012

OUR PATRONESS: THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

By Bob Garrow on December 08, 2012 in Feasts and the Liturgical Calendar

In our nation's capital city, Washington D.C., stands a beautiful shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The shrine that I am talking about is the largest church in North America and one of the ten largest churches in the...

Dec072012

RESTORATION FROM EXILE

By Fr. Matthew Coonan on December 07, 2012 in Sunday Readings

The Year: 587 BCThe Place: The Promised LandThe Event: The Fall of Jerusalem to the BabyloniansThe Results: Death, Destruction, Devastation and Deportation The Lord God had gloriously liberated His people from slavery in Egypt. He led them out...

Dec062012

DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA? THE REAL STORY OF ST. NICHOLAS

By Mark Hart on December 06, 2012 in Saints

This post by Mark Hart was originally featured on the Lifeteen blog on December 6, 2011. It reappears here with permission. To view the original post at lifeteen.com, click here. Thanks, Mark! Image from Lifeteen.com Okay, it’s...

Dec052012

CONFESSION – A ROMAN CATHOLIC APP

By Patrick Leinen on December 05, 2012 in The Faith in Action

We build Catholic apps – it isn’t something most people are accustomed to hearing. In fact, saying it has gotten our team our fair share of funny looks, both from the secular and religious community. I’m sure you can imagine the look on...

Dec042012

GOOD AND BETTER CONFESSIONS

By Fr. Aaron Pidel on December 04, 2012 in Sacraments

Since confession is shrouded in secrecy, I find that people are sometimes curious to know how they “stack up” as penitents. Are they making “good” confessions? Could they improve? What follows are a few hints. Basically, we make a...

Dec032012

HEARING FORGIVENESS

By Christina Emilian on December 03, 2012 in Sacraments

We could feel each other breathe, hear the other's heart and sense the festering thoughts in our heads. My sister and I had been fighting and until we apologized, and meant it, we would have to remain standing stomach-to-stomach, as our mother...

Dec022012

BEGINNING A NEW (CHURCH) YEAR

By Emily MacMichael on December 02, 2012 in Feasts and the Liturgical Calendar

Happy new year! Today, the Church turns the calendar to a new liturgical year. I'm sure you already know that we celebrate different seasons, with different vestment colors and hymns. But these aren’t just spread throughout the year to...

Dec012012

AM I READY?

By Fr. Daniel Whelan on December 01, 2012 in Sunday Readings

As a child, I fondly remember playing the game, “Hide and Seek.” The seeker would count to fifty while the hiders would find a place to conceal themselves. Once the number 50 arrived, the seeker would shout, “Ready or not, here I...

Nov302012

WHO IS YOUR ST. ANDREW?

By Megan Swaim on November 30, 2012 in Saints

Today is the feast of St. Andrew. It also happens to be my wedding day. Not my wedding anniversary, but my actual wedding day! But as excited as I am today about getting married, on this great feast, I want to tell you about my baby...

Nov292012

CELEBRATING ADVENT AS A CATHOLIC FAMILY

By Lisa Hendey on November 29, 2012 in Faith at Home

Catholic families strive in a unique way to prepare our hearts and homes to celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ as we commence the season of Advent. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we have a unique opportunity to enjoy devotions...

Nov282012

THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

By Brother Leo Maria on November 28, 2012 in Prayer and Devotion

“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” On November 27th, 1830, St. Catherine Labouré was in the chapel and heard a noise that was similar to the swishing of a silken gown, and saw Our Lady holding a...

Nov272012

BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

By My Year of Faith on November 27, 2012 in Catechism

“By the power of the Holy Spirit He was Incarnate” 484 The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates “the fullness of time,”1 the time of the fulfillment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom...

Nov262012

PREPARING TO PREPARE

By Sean McBride on November 26, 2012 in Feasts and the Liturgical Calendar

One of my favorite works of fiction is the book series from Robert Jordan titled The Eye of the World. It is a fantasy collection that is very Tolkeinesque, with some very vivid depictions of the struggle between good and evil, set in a world...

Nov252012

THIS IS WHAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LOOKS LIKE

By Flower Ortega on November 25, 2012 in Feasts and the Liturgical Calendar

Picture this: you're sweaty, sticky, hungry, thirsty, exhausted and packed tight into a metro car with so many other sweaty people that you can no longer discern what body odor belongs to you. And yet, despite the fact that every single person...

Nov242012

¡VIVA CRISTO REY! LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING!

By Fr. Neil Wack on November 24, 2012 in Sunday Readings

On November 23, 1927 Blessed Miguel Pro exclaimed these words before he was executed for the crime of being a Catholic priest. This martyr, like many of his Mexican brothers and sisters, risked his life to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He...

Nov232012

I AM GIFT.

By Cindy Black on November 23, 2012 in The Faith in Action

“…man is the only creature on earth that God will for its own sake, man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself.” (Gaudium et Spes, 24) I wonder where you are as you're reading this on “black Friday.”...

Nov222012

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE – PASS IT ON!

By My Year of Faith on November 22, 2012 in The Faith in Action

We asked a few of our friends to share the less-obvious things they are thankful for this Thanksgiving… What about you? What are the things that have brought you closer to Jesus, to deeper faith, to be more understanding, patient and...

Nov212012

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

By Frank Mercadante on November 21, 2012 in The Faith in Action

My wife went into labor two months early during her first pregnancy. The night commenced with the darkened skies of forecasted thunderstorms and concluded with a sunlit, morning delivery of unexpected twins. The premature, tiny, fragile surprises...

Nov202012

THE CHURCH’S 7 SACRAMENTS

By My Year of Faith on November 20, 2012 in Catechism

The Paschal Mystery in the Church's Sacraments 115 Jesus's words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he...

Nov192012

WHY DID THE WORD BECOME FLESH?

By Catechism of the Catholic Church on November 19, 2012 in Catechism

“For us and our salvation He came down from heaven” Why Did the Word Become Flesh? 456 With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he...

Nov182012

INSTEAD OF MARTHA STEWART, TRY ST. MARY AND ST. MARTHA

By Sherry Antonetti on November 18, 2012 in Faith at Home

Thanksgiving can be a stressful holiday, with the fattening stressful mix of intense cooking, intense cleaning, visiting relatives and the hard push of the TV, only the 32 days until Christmas, how do we make this holiday a day of blessed sacred...

Nov172012

KEEPING WATCH

By Deacon Chris Lapp on November 17, 2012 in Sunday Readings

For many, this is a great time of year: the leaves change and fall, the decrease in temperature is welcome after the summer heat, football, anticipation of good food in coming holidays (perhaps this week!), anticipation of decorations, baking,...

Nov162012

A SHARER IN THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST

By Ryan Guthrie on November 16, 2012 in Prayer and Devotion

“Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished. He is called to share in that suffering through which all human suffering has also been...

Nov152012

THE FAITH OF THE SAINTS

By Bishop Kevin Rhoades on November 15, 2012 in Bishop Kevin Rhoades

The saints teach us to look upon reality with the eyes of faith. They were faith-filled men, women, and children with different personalities and unique traits. But all of them were fascinated by the beauty of God and they radiated that beauty...