Sacraments

...and gift ideas to commemorate Baptisms, First Communions, and Confirmations

Planning a liturgy for First Eucharist is a real challenge; there are so many things to consider! Yet each year, when I see the excitement in the eyes of our second graders, I find new energy and excitement myself. I think of the process as…

Just because you’re not in your 20s — or you’re not in perfect health — doesn’t mean you’ve lost your chance to discern consecrated life. I talked with Robyn Lee — former managing editor of Catholic Digest — about her vocation story; with…

This past June, the Bishops of the United States launched a three-year Eucharistic Revival within the United States. It will have many components both local and national. To learn more, the main website for all information is …

The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States are calling for a Eucharistic Revival across the nation. This three-year initiative will have many components both local and national. The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body…

American Sisters have come a long way from baking Communion dough with tongs over an open fire

In the mid 1960s, a French Jesuit named Joseph de Guibert offered a charming analogy about spirituality, first made in the Middle Ages. A spirituality is like a bridge, he said. Every bridge does pretty much the same thing: It gets you from…

By Fr. Dwight Longenecker  So often we attend Mass and take things for granted. Not paying attention, we miss the meaning and overlook the significance of the little things. The bread and wine are brought forward during the offertory, and…

BY PAT GOHN The seven sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony — have five important elements in common. They are the sacraments of Christ. All are instituted and based on the…

by Tom Hoopes  The day I learned the power of the cross, I was unemployed and desperate. More than desperate, I was panicked and near despair. I had been looking for work in Washington, D.C., for weeks, and every promising lead had…