Was it worth it?

This is the tale of two holy lives and two ... not so holy ones. Sts. Theodulus and Agathopodes (died 303, feast day April 5) were members of the clergy in the church at Thessalonica (aka Salonica) in Greece. The bustling city was part of…

When the Good News was news

After having the benefit of 2,000 years of Christianity, we sometimes take the teachings of the Gospel for granted. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in…

Old school nuns

The broad cobblestoned street curved as you climbed, so I didn’t see the convent until I was standing before its huge iron gates. Its massive bulk loomed like a castle. Going to college in Rome felt grown up until the first time I went…

Pilipivka: St. Philip’s Fast

Now I am going to tell you about something that until I did this article I knew next to nothing about — Advent fasting customs of the Eastern Rite. All I knew is that the period of Advent starts way sooner than Advent in the West. Instead…

Teresa Tomeo: Culture warrior

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more energetic culture warrior than Teresa Tomeo. The familiar long-time host of Ave Maria Radio’s Catholic Connection, she is also the host of EWTN’s The Catholic View for Women, the author of multiple…

June: Weirdos welcome

The feast of All Saints is exactly the same in the East as it is in the West; it’s just on the other side of the year. It always falls on the Sunday following Pentecost, which this year is June 16. On this day, the Eastern Church…

Eastern rite Lent: Pray early and often

Today we will not be talking about a who but a what. Let’s get down with Lent! Literally. What Father is chanting in Old Slavonic is: You suffered greatly for us Jesus Christ, Son of God Have mercy on us Just as in the West,…