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Spirituality
Sacred Heart Enthronement
One evening I called down the basement stairs for my eighth grader to come up for dinner. He had gone down to run on our treadmill, but when I opened the door, I didn’t hear the familiar whirring noise, so I went to investigate. I found…
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…
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…
Way of Beauty: Blessed is She
by Gina Loehr Elizabeth filled with the holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41). So Luke tells us in his Gospel account of the Visitation. As her cousin Mary greets her, the elderly woman, who is nonetheless great with child, speaks through the power of…
St. James the Lesser
St. James the Lesser Feast Day: May 3 James the Lesser, meaning younger, is traditionally celebrated as being the author of a letter in the New Testament. His mother is thought to have been a sister or close relative of the Blessed Virgin…
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…
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…
Five simple rules to live by
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: God speaks to us all the time. We just don’t always hear his voice, because we aren’t paying attention to the “still, small voice” within our hearts. Wisdom comes in many forms, and I can’t say…
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…
St. Joseph: Lessons from a simple man
The Church puts great emphasis on St. Joseph and for good reason. As foster father of Christ, taking care of the young Savior and looking after his Most Blessed Mother, he is among the most distinguished figures in Christianity. And yet…