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Spirituality
Five Marian titles to encourage your devotion to the Blessed Mother
There’s nothing more consoling than to find refreshment in the arms of our heavenly mother, Mary. When we doubt or feel abandoned by God, turning to Mary under specific titles dispenses particular graces to our wounded and weary hearts. She…
IndyCar’s priest
It’s 3:56 a.m. as Fr. Glenn O’Connor weaves his SUV through the darkened streets of Indianapolis. On most Sundays Fr. Glenn tends to his 1,400 families as pastor of St. Susanna Parish in nearby Plainfield, Indiana, but on this day, the…
May: Cyril and Methodius – What’s behind that funny writing?
For once, you have probably heard of these saints with funny names whose feast day the Eastern churches celebrate on May 11. These two brothers, who hailed from the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica, are well beloved by Catholics of both…
Mother of the Church
Everyone has a mother. Yes, the mother who gave them birth in the physical order of life. But Christian believers have another mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the spiritual order of grace. Jesus willed to give Mary as a mother to the…
The genius of Mary
Do we really get Mary? We know God made her perfectly sinless. She needed to be perfect, because Jesus would take his human nature from her. That’s why she was humble, meek, and so, so good. And that’s where we get stuck. Everybody focuses…
May altar
“Miss LaTassa, during recess today I’d like you to stay in the classroom and work on our May altar.” It was the spring of 1973, and I was delighted to have been selected by Sr. Gemma to assemble the May altar for grade 4-1. Altar-building…
Be inspired by St. Joseph
May 1 is the Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. Take some time to read these reflections about St. Joseph from Pope Francis. I ask for you the grace to be ever closer to your children, allow them to grow, but be close, close! They…
Sunday Gospel reflection: Reveal God to others through your actions
It may have been a bit of a shock to Catholics when, near the end of the Second Vatican Council, the Council Fathers wrote that believers themselves bore some responsibility for the rise of atheism in the world (see Pastoral Constitution on…
April: Sosipater — You are there!
St. Sosipater (aka Sopater) is mentioned twice in the Bible and both times he comes across as, well, boring. But stick with me because boring people often have exciting friends and therein lies our story. We first read his name in the Book…
Sunday Gospel reflection: Be a symbol of love for your own ‘flock’
In certain European countries sheep are raised principally for their meat; in ancient Israel they were raised above all for wool and milk. For this reason they remained for many years in the company of the shepherd, who knew the character…
