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Spirituality

Redeeming the Time

When is New Year’s Day? Everybody assumes it is Jan.1, but for centuries Catholics observed March 25 as the start of the new year. March 25 is around the beginning of spring, but in the Church’s calendar it is the Solemnity of the…

The ‘Secret Code of Catholic’

What’s the name of that screwball comedy? The one with the two desperados? That one. Anyway, they’re in mortal danger. One guy makes a quick Sign of the Cross in a desperate plea for heavenly aid. The other guy looks at him, thinks for a…

The Little Way at Home

I first met Thérèse of Lisieux when I was an Anglican priest. I had three months free between jobs and decided to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from England. One of my first stops was in the French town of Lisieux. I knew of St. Thérèse,…

Five facts about St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione) was a priest and friar in the Capuchin order. An Italian, he was beatified and canonized by St. John Paul II and is widely known for various supernatural phenomena such as exhibiting the stigmata, being a…

Waters of New Life

All it takes is a few years or even months of dry weather before we realize how dependent all of us are on fresh water for life. When California was hit by drought conditions, the whole nation was affected. Because California grows a huge…

A good father clings to Our Lady

When my wife and I moved to the Bay Area from southern California, we were stressed. I was starting a brand new job, our first child was less than 18 months old and not sleeping at all, and we were staying at my wife’s parents’ home while…