Have you ever heard of this Navy tradition? Babies are baptized in the ship’s bell...
After years of snubs and sharp criticisms from Rome, parish priests will welcome the change of tone in the Pope’s new letter...
Pope Francis has addressed a warm and affectionate letter to parish priests throughout the Church. The letter, written on the occasion of a meeting of parish priests in Rome as part of the synodal process, attempts three things — to repair the damage done by the exclusion of parish priests from the synodal assembly last October...
Nagasaki’s Continuous Martyrdom: From the Hidden Church to the Atomic Bomb...
High above the city of Nagasaki, I walk a Way of the Cross in the steps of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who founded a monastery here in 1931. The lush mountainous area is marked by a grotto reminiscent of Lourdes, built by the Polish Franciscan saint to honor the Blessed Mother and sanctify the place where he lived for five years, until called back to Poland.
Priest Shot Dead in South Africa; Catholic Bishops There Decry ‘Pandemic’ of Murder...
Thank You, Bill Maher, But Your Critique of Hollywood’s Depravity Didn’t Go Far Enough...
If you haven’t seen talk show host Bill Maher’s recent monologue calling out the pedophilia problem in Hollywood, you really should take the eight and a half minutes to do so. I’m glad someone finally said the sexual exploitation of children is wrong, and that Hollywood’s complicity and hypocrisy are appalling. However, the problem is deeper than Maher thinks...
5 middle schoolers who protested trans athlete’s participation banned from future competitions...
The Pope says you’re welcome. But are you interested?
In the latest, broadcast by CBS (with a more extensive version to air in May), Pope Francis is asked about the many Catholics who have left the Church. His answer is revealing in several ways. He insists that there is “always a place” for Catholics in the Church. “If in this parish, the priest doesn’t seem welcoming, I understand,” he says; “but go and look elsewhere”...
Begotten by Love: A Reflection on the Sixth Sunday of Easter...
God is love, and He revealed that love in sending His only Son to be a sacrificial offering for our sins. In these words from today’s Epistle, we should hear an echo of the story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac at the dawn of salvation history. Because Abraham obeyed God’s command and did not withhold his only beloved son, God promised that Abraham’s descendants...
What Do Atheists Believe?
Words are the way we communicate from one mind to another. A word is external expression of an internal idea, but it is not a mechanical or quantifiable act in binary code with precise meaning. The same word can mean different things to different people. To “believe” is such a word. Previously (What is Atheism?), I used Graham Oppy’s book, Atheism: The Basics, for the definition of atheism...
Shows like ‘Ghost Hunters’ are silly. For centuries, the world’s expert in paranormal investigations has been the Catholic Church...
These days, there are numerous ghost hunting and paranormal TV shows. A few examples include Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Kindred Spirits, Paranormal Lockdown, and Help! My House Is Haunted.Frankly, these shows are silly. Shows like this are not taken seriously by competent paranormal investigators.However, what is a Catholic to make of the subject of paranormal investigations itself?
Here’s a Catholic spiritual hand grenade for you...
What you pray for, virtual priesthood, and an Eastern mystery...
Pope Francis May Visit United States in September After UN Invitation...
What should you do if your employer asks you to sign a non-discrimination policy?
Why does God try to kill Moses in Exodus 4?
Chapter 4 of the Book of Exodus contains one of the strangest passages in all of Sacred Scripture. Verses 18-26 describe how Moses, living in exile in the land of Midian, goes to his father-in-law Jethro to request permission to return to his own people back in Egypt. Jethro consents, and so Moses sets off together with his wife, Zipporah, and their sons.
Opinion: Catholics Should Not Be Organ Donors When ‘Brain Death’ Is the Standard...
What changed when parents gave their 10-year-old her first iPad?
I continue to work my way through the much-discussed book “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt. It’s slow work, in part because I am taking lots of notes. I don’t know about you folks, but I am a slow, careful reader when dealing with subjects that I believe are unusually important.
The Return of the Canonized Popes...
Daddy, what bead are we on?
“Daddy, what bead are we on?” is a question I am asked frequently by my two oldest sons during our nighttime rosary. It is a question that at first perturbed me, but the more they asked the question, the more I fell in love with them asking the question. Their little souls are so precious. They seek to love God in their own way, and in their time. Although they lose their place on the rosary...
Hungry Priests Are Not Needy Priests...
The position of a priest can be the loneliest position in the world. All humans have a fundamental hunger to be appreciated, yet very few of our Spiritual Fathers fully receive or seek this out. Affirming what you know is good and true about another person is not only necessary, but essential, for the nourishment of any relationship. This can begin with you...
Mothering Sunday: The baptismal holiday we missed in America...
It’s a little late for this year, but I’ve just learned, for the first time in my life, of the special day called Mothering Sunday, observed in the United Kingdom and some other related countries. Contrary to some sources, this is not an opportunity for people to visit their mothers, and it doesn’t have much to do with the movie of the same name. Rather, this observance originated in the Middle Ages on the fourth Sunday in Lent...
This book offers support and hope for Catholic dads who have lost a child...
The Fruitful Trials of St. Paul...
Imagine if Osama bin Laden, after masterminding terrorist attacks, had repented and begun proclaiming Jesus Christ and the Gospel? Christians might understandably still be afraid of him and wary of his claimed Christian conversion. In the first century, prior to his famous conversion, St. Paul had intensely persecuted God’s Church and tried to destroy it...
Pope Francis to Visit Verona for a Trip Centered on Peace and Justice...
This Sunday, Jesus Is the Vine Leading From Genesis to Heaven, Through You...
Jesus compares himself to a plant in the Gospel reading for Mass on the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B. In fact, this Gospel comes from the night before he died, in the Last Supper Discourse, after he had spent much of the last week of his life comparing himself — and us — to plant life. After entering Jerusalem, he cursed a fig tree that was providing no fruit...
Did Pope Francis Just Endorse ‘Parish Shopping’?
The Fullness of Life: Bishop Erik Varden’s Resurrection of Chastity...
Cardinal Fernández: New Document on Discerning Apparitions ‘Being Finalized’...
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The full contents of the New Advent website are available as a digital download. It includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — and it's only $19.99...
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